Scenario-based touching: on the influence of top-down processes on tactile and visual appreciation

Author(s)

Martina Jakesch, Martina Zachhuber, Helmut Leder, Mark Spingler, Claus-Christian Carbon

Abstract

The aim was to propose a testing procedure that

allows measuring ecological valid judgments as a tool

for selecting e.g. surface materials in the design process.

Precise measures are essential for evaluation processes for

example in design research and applied studies. Contextual

effects in form of top-down processes often lead to biases in

measures such as quality or liking judgments. We examined

contextual effects of such factors by varying specific

instructions, which were based on everyday life scenarios.

We also investigated the stability and ecological validity of

evaluations with the focus on a multisensory approach

involving vision plus touch, touch-only and vision-only

conditions. Participants evaluated the materials, for preference

in experiment 1, and for perceived material properties

(thermal conductivity, hardness and roughness) in experiment

2—either with or without specific instructions. Results

showed higher consistency in the vision plus touch condition

than in the unimodal conditions. Moreover, preferences

and perceived material properties strongly varied according

to the presence and the content of instruction (scenarios).

These results demonstrate the strong impact of top-down

processes on tactile as well as visual judgments.

Organisation(s)

External organisation(s)

Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Ford Motor Company

Journal

Research in Engineering Design: theory, applications, and concurrent engineering

Volume

Pages

143-152

No. of pages

ISSN

0934-9839

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-010-0102-5

Publication date

2011

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

501006 Experimental psychology, 501011 Cognitive psychology, 501001 General psychology

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