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Aesthetic principles and cognitive emotion appraisals: How much of the beauty lies in the eye of the beholder?
Author(s) -
Kumar Minu,
Garg Nitika
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of consumer psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.433
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1532-7663
pISSN - 1057-7408
DOI - 10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.015
Subject(s) - psychology , cognition , cognitive psychology , harmony (color) , beauty , subconscious , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , aesthetic experience , product (mathematics) , aesthetics , communication , medicine , art , philosophy , pathology , neuroscience , visual arts , alternative medicine , geometry , mathematics
Although the aesthetic properties of a product have often been linked to consumers’ emotional responses, theory and empirical evidence are yet to fully explain how and why aesthetic properties of a product evoke an emotional response. Drawing on an eclectic literature, we propose hypotheses connecting aesthetic principles with the subconscious cognitive appraisals associated with emotions. Specifically, we empirically test the relationships between the aesthetic principle of harmony and cognitive appraisals (attentional activity and pleasantness), while exploring the moderating role of typicality. Our results suggest that harmony and typicality interact to affect appraisals of pleasantness and attentional activity. Specifically, consumers tend to prefer designs that balance the levels of attentional resources needed and pleasantness in visually evaluating the design. This work advances the growing literature in product design and aesthetics by providing an understanding of the mechanisms through which aesthetic principles might prompt emotional responses in consumers.