Aesthetic response and social perception of consumer product design
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Abstract
Research suggests that product performance is the most crucial construct among the various consumer determinants of satisfaction evaluation. One aspect of product performance is appealing or aesthetic product design. This research was exploratory into the nature and influence of product design on the consumer's aesthetic response.
The purposes of the study were to: (1) measure differences in arousal potential, as an indicant of the aesthetic response; (2) explore the nature of arousal potential and its relation to perceptual responses; and (3) demonstrate the influence of aesthetics on product evaluation. The findings were striking in terms of Berlyne's strikingness hypothesis and Tuohy's use of this hypothesis to separate affective from cognitive responses in the general causal model of exposure effects in social perception. The analysis of 1011 responses to the visual appearance of three consumer electronic products indicated that arousal potential is sensitive to manipulations in product appearance.
Two product design categories were associated with significantly greater mean differences in arousal potential, while being the only two product categories with asymmetrical response distributions in social perception. One of the two product categories was also one of two categories associated with a significantly greater purchase likelihood. The potential influence of artistic judgments and handwriting dominance on aesthetic response to consumer product design was examined but no significant relationships were discovered.
This research has demonstrated that arousal potential as an indicant of consumer aesthetic response can be measured and used to evaluate consumer satisfaction with product appearance. Of greater importance, the results demonstrate that arousal potential can influence consumer perceptions and evaluations of consumer electronic products, thereby impacting the successful marketing of products to consumers.