The influence of web aesthetics on customers’ PAD

One key focus of an online retail website is to enhance the consumers’ online shopping behavior. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework and pleasure, arousal, and dominance (PAD) emotional model, we investigated the relationship between consumers’ emotional model and purchase behavior from the perspective of web aesthetics, and how web aesthetics affect their purchase behaviors through the emotional model. Using 441 questionnaire responses and structural equation modeling, we verified that both aesthetic formality and aesthetic appeal influence purchase behaviors through the emotional model. In the emotional model, web aesthetics have significant and positive influences on control, which is composed of behavior control, cognitive control, and decisional control. Control indirectly influences pleasure through the mediations of energetic arousal and tense arousal. Additionally, pleasure and searching on other websites positively influences purchasing behavior. The aim of this study was to provide practical recommendations in the establishment of a pattern of web aesthetics that influence consumers’ emotions.     

Product design,semantics and emotional response

This paper explores theoretical issues in ergonomics related to semantics and the emotional content of design. The aim is to find answers to the following questions: how to design products triggering ‘happiness’ in one's mind; which product attributes help in the communication of positive emotions; and finally, how to evoke such emotions through a product. In other words, this is an investigation of the ‘meaning’ that could be designed into a product in order to ‘communicate’ with the user at an emotional level. A literature survey of recent design trends, based on selected examples of product designs and semantic applications to design, including the results of recent design awards, was carried out in order to determine the common attributes of their design language. A review of Good Design Award winning products that are said to convey and/or evoke emotions in the users has been done in order to define good design criteria. These criteria have been discussed in relation to user emotional responses and a selection of these has been given as examples.     

Affective design of products using an audio-based protocol: Application to eyeglass frame

The measurement and understanding of user emotions elicited by product appearance are critical elements of the product development process. This paper proposes a new emotion measurement method, called Auditory Parameter Method. It is a non-verbal technique that uses auditory stimuli (music samples) and association tests for evaluating a set of products, given by their pictures. From user-tests, it provides an assessment of these products according to a series of emotional dimensions. We present the methodological framework used to build the links between user's emotional responses and geometrical features of the products. The method is described on an application case, an eyeglass frame. Analysis of Variance models are employed to examine how various shape factors influence users' emotional responses. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our protocol, we compare the proposed method with the conventional Semantic Differential using Principal Component Analysis and Generalized Procrustes Analysis. The new protocol demonstrates interesting qualities for collecting the intuitive emotions of users and for providing a discriminant measurement of emotions. It can also be used by designers to stimulate creativity.     

The impact of a computerized conferencing system on the productivity of scientific research communities

Researchers and practitioners in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) have for a while been embracing the concepts of user and consumer experience as well as emotions in design, encouraging the industry to emphasise hedonic and symbolic qualities of products and services, over and beyond their utilitarian characteristics. However, the idea that mobile phone users, for instance, seek increasingly experience-rich, personalised products can not be taken for granted. Therefore, it is valuable to investigate the degree to which users really share designers' increasingly socio-emotional stances. The presented longitudinal study investigated users' mobile phone-related product meaning, particularly its development from 2004 to 2008. Product meaning was conceptualised in terms of an affective-cognizant choice mode dimension complemented by items capturing utilitarian, hedonic, and symbolic facets of the construct. The findings provide grounds for raising an important discussion about a possible pragmatic shift in product meaning, away from emotional and holistic, towards piecemeal and rational valuation. This would obviously challenge current design maxims. Linking these results to users' personality and mobile phone ownership history, subgroups with notably dissimilar product meaning development could be distinguished mainly with regard to levels of neuroticism, extraversion and brand loyalty – however, not gender.     

Product design, semantics and emotional response

This paper explores theoretical issues in ergonomics related to semantics and the emotional content of design. The aim is to find answers to the following questions: how to design products triggering "happiness" in one's mind; which product attributes help in the communication of positive emotions; and finally, how to evoke such emotions through a product. In other words, this is an investigation of the "meaning" that could be designed into a product in order to "communicate" with the user at an emotional level. A literature survey of recent design trends, based on selected examples of product designs and semantic applications to design, including the results of recent design awards, was carried out in order to determine the common attributes of their design language. A review of Good Design Award winning products that are said to convey and/or evoke emotions in the users has been done in order to define good design criteria. These criteria have been discussed in relation to user emotional responses and a selection of these has been given as examples.     

个性化图像美学评价的研究进展与趋势

图像美学评价方法是当前研究的热点问题。图像美学评价分为大众化和个性化两种。大众化图像美学评价主要研究大多数人对图像共同的审美感知评估,而个性化图像美学评价可以针对用户的个性化审美感知进行评估。现有的研究工作主要集中在大众化图像美学评价上,但是由于人们对图像的审美体验具有高度主观性,研究针对特定用户的个性化图像美学评价方法更加符合现实意义。目前研究人员针对个性化图像美学评价展开了相关研究,并取得了一定的研究进展。但是现有的文献中缺少对个性化图像美学评价方法的综述,本文针对个性化图像美学评价的研究进展与趋势进行概述。首先分析图像美学评价的研究现状与发展趋势;然后针对现阶段的个性化图像美学评价模型进行概述,将现有的个性化图像美学评价模型总结为基于协同过滤的模型、基于用户交互的模型和基于审美差异的模型,并分析这3类模型主要的设计思路以及优缺点;最后介绍个性化图像美学评价在精准营销、个性化推荐系统、个性化视觉增强和个性化艺术设计上的应用前景,并指出未来研究工作在主观特性分析和知识驱动建模等方面的发展方向。     

Understanding the impact of perceived visual aesthetics on user evaluations: An emotional perspective

Studies aimed at predicting user judgments have been dominated by the usability and efficiency perspective. An important assumption of this perspective is that higher order judgments such as quality perception and download intention are mainly cognitive processes. Increasingly, research has shown that this perspective is incapable of fully explaining user judgments. Emerging research posits that emotions and emotional subcomponents that arise from aesthetic-based design factors are at least equally important for understanding how users form higher order judgments such as quality perception and attractiveness. In this article, light is shed on the role of emotions in affecting these judgments. This is performed for the particular case of mobile apps. Specifically, the relationship between various aesthetic subdimensions (classical and expressive) and emotional subcomponents (valence and arousal) is explored. First, an explanatory model from theories of aesthetics, emotions, and visual perception is derived. Second, a laboratory experiment is conducted, and it provides empirical evidence for the relationships between visual aesthetics, emotions, and higher order evaluations such as users' quality perceptions and the intentions to download. Specifically, significant relationships were found between aesthetic subdimensions and valence, whereas arousal was partially significant. Selective emotional subdimensions also significantly impacted quality perceptions, attractiveness, and intention to download. Finally, implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

High and low spatial frequencies in website evaluations

Statement of Relevance:

Which features of websites are important for users' perceptions regarding aesthetics or usability? This study investigates how evaluations of aesthetic appeal and usability depend on high vs. low spatial frequencies. High spatial frequencies convey information on fine details, whereas low spatial frequencies convey information about the global layout. Participants rated aesthetic appeal and usability of 50 website screenshots from different domains. Screenshots were presented unfiltered, low-pass filtered with blurred targets or high-pass filtered with high-pass filtered targets. The main result is that low spatial frequencies can be seen to have a unique contribution in perceived website aesthetics, thus confirming a central prediction from processing fluency theory. There was no connection between low spatial frequencies and usability evaluations, whereas strong correlations were found between ratings of high-pass filtered websites and those of unfiltered websites in aesthetics and usability. This study thus offers a new perspective on the biological basis of users' website perceptions.

This research links ergonomics to neurocognitive models of visual processing. This paper investigates how high and low spatial frequencies, which are neurologically processed in different visual pathways, independently contribute to users' perceptions of websites. This is very relevant for theories of website perceptions and for practitioners of web design.     

Understanding User Experience with Computer-Based Applications with Different Use Purposes

The concept of user experience emphasizes the importance of understanding users for applications that have various contextual features. To address this issue, this study examines the changes in the relationships among user satisfaction and users' perceptions of usability and aesthetics according to use situations. For data, an experiment was conducted using 15 existing websites with similar levels of usability and aesthetics. Forty-five engineering students participated in the experiment. The results indicated that the relationships among perceived usability, perceived aesthetics, and user satisfaction could be dependent on how users perceived the use purposes and interaction types of the websites. Specifically, the relationship between perceived usability and user satisfaction was stronger for websites requiring users' goal-directed activities, whereas the relationship between perceived aesthetics and user satisfaction was stronger for the websites mainly providing useful information, regardless of the existence of a specific use goal. Also, the strong relationship between perceived usability and perceived aesthetics was more obvious for websites where users mainly wanted to obtain information than for those where users primarily wanted to use the leisure and relaxation content. The findings can be utilized in the design of websites with different contextual features, especially related to use purposes and interaction types.     

Recommender Systems: An Introduction,by Dietmar Jannach,Markus Zanker,Alexander Felfernig,and Gerhard Friedrich

In addressing user experience issues, users’ perceptions and emotions need to be considered important. This study examines the relationships between perceived usability/aesthetics and emotional valence/arousal/engagement through an experiment using 15 existing websites from various domains and questionnaire items developed to measure users’ responses. According to the experimental results, both perceived usability and perceived aesthetics were positively correlated with emotional valence and negatively correlated with emotional engagement. No specific relationship was found between perceived usability/aesthetics and emotional arousal. Perceived aesthetics potentially had a greater impact on valence than perceived usability. Unlike valence, engagement could be more influenced by perceived usability than by perceived aesthetics. These findings can be utilized as bases for applying users’ emotional responses in each dimension to the product-use situations in the chain of perceptions, emotions, and behaviors.     

How will the use of graphics affect visual aesthetics? A user-centered approach for web page design

This paper addresses new and significant research issues in web page design in relation to the use of graphics. The original findings include that (a) graphics play an important role in enhancing the appearance and thus users' feelings (aesthetics) about web pages and that (b) the effective use of graphics is crucial in designing web pages. In addition, we have developed a web page design support database based on a user-centered experimental procedure and a neural network model. This design support database can be used to examine how a specific combination of design elements, particularly the ratio of graphics to text, will affect the users' feelings about a web page. As a general rule, the ratio of graphics to text between 3:1 and 1:1 will give the users the best feelings of ease-to-use and clear-to-follow. A web page with a ratio of 1:1 will have the most realistic look, while a ratio of over 3:1 will have the fanciest appearance. The result provides useful insights in using graphics on web pages that help web designers best meet users' specific expectations and aesthetic consistency.     

中国国画情感-美感数据库

目的 有关艺术作品审美感受的量化或计算,在心理学上已有许多研究。近年来,人工智能的研究成为热点,而对人类感知的定量分析也随之受到极大关注,例如基于图片或者音乐内容的情感计算等。美感作为一种艺术化的审美情感,与之相关的定量研究有较大潜力。为便于进行中国文化背景下的审美研究,同时为丰富图像情感与审美计算相关研究的数据基础,需建立一个国画美感和情感分析所用的图像数据库。方法 从多种渠道收集筛选511幅国画素材及350个国画美感形容词,通过词汇筛选和因子分析获得国画美感主要因子;采用离散词汇和PAD（pleasure-arousal-dominance）情感连续维度空间这两种描述方式对国画的审美感受进行标注;对数据库进行情感和美感的模式分类,从而验证其实用性。结果 获得5个国画美感主要语义标签：气势、清幽、生机、雅致和萧瑟;标注数据结果满足有效性验证;不同美感的PAD情感分布呈现一定极化;经测试,情感分类精度平均可达0.68,美感分类精度最高可达0.77。结论 本文得到的5个国画美感评价范畴,可基本概括国画的审美感受;所建立的数据库,能为视觉美感及情感的定量研究或者计算机视觉、实验美学等领域的研究提供有效数据基础;PAD分布对美感有较好区分性。下一步将进一步扩充数据库,以解决数据分布不均问题,同时进一步挖掘PAD分布与美感分布之间的关联。     

Aesthetic images modulate emotional responses to reading news messages on a small screen: A psychophysiological investigation

Abstract pictures, such as artistic drawings, may evoke subtle emotions in their observers via aesthetic experiences. We examined among 44 participants the emotional responses as measured by facial electromyography (EMG) to aesthetic background images that varied on the emotional valence (unpleasant to pleasant) and arousal (calming to exciting) dimensions and were presented both separately and as background images for news messages. Effects of image arousal on free recall of news messages were also examined. A priori pleasant compared to unpleasant images were associated with higher orbicularis oculi EMG responses, both when presented alone and when presented as news message backgrounds. Analyses based on the participants' subjective pleasantness ratings also showed greater corrugator supercilii EMG activity for unpleasant compared to pleasant images. High-arousal as compared to low-arousal images improved recall for the superimposed news messages. In contrast, recall was not affected by a priori image valence or subjective pleasantness ratings. The results demonstrate that abstract images can be used to evoke emotional responses in the viewers that persist even when unrelated messages are superimposed on them. Similarly, high-arousal images can be used to enhance memory for superimposed textual messages.     

人机交互中的智能体情感计算研究

机器的情感是通过融入具有情感能力的智能体实现的,虽然目前在人机交互领域已经有大量研究成果,但有关智能体情感计算方面的研究尚处起步阶段,深入开展这项研究对推动人机交互领域的发展具有重要的科学和应用价值。本文通过检索Scopus数据库选择有代表性的文献,重点关注情感在智能体和用户之间的双向流动,分别从智能体对用户的情绪感知和对用户情绪调节的角度开展分析总结。首先梳理了用户情绪的识别方法,即通过用户的表情、语音、姿态、生理信号和文本信息等多通道信息分析用户的情绪状态,归纳了情绪识别中的一些机器学习方法。其次从用户体验角度分析具有情绪表现力的智能体对用户的影响,总结了智能体的情绪生成和表现技术,指出智能体除了通过表情之外,还可以通过注视、姿态、头部运动和手势等非言语动作来表现情绪。并且梳理了典型的智能体情绪架构,举例说明了强化学习在智能体情绪设计中的作用。同时为了验证模型的准确性,比较了已有的情感评估手段和评价指标。最后指出智能体情感计算急需解决的问题。通过对现有研究的总结,智能体情感计算研究是一个很有前景的研究方向,希望本文能够为深入开展相关研究提供借鉴。     

User idea implementation in open innovation communities: Evidence from a new product development crowdsourcing community

In collaborative crowdsourcing communities for open innovation, users generate and submit ideas as idea co‐creators. Firms then select and implement valuable ideas for new product development. Despite the popularity and success of these open innovation communities, relatively little is known about the factors that determine the implementation of the user‐generated ideas. Based on research on individual creativity, we propose a conceptual model integrating users' previous experience, idea presentation characteristics and feedback valence to explain the likelihood of idea implementation. We validate our research model with a panel data analysis of 43 550 ideas submitted by 16 360 users in the MIUI new product development community hosted by Xiaomi, a large electronics manufacturing company in China. We find an inverted U‐shaped relationship between users' past successful experience and idea implementation. Furthermore, the length of ideas is positively associated with the likelihood of idea implementation. There is also an inverted U‐shaped relationship between supporting evidence and idea implementation. Finally, we demonstrate the negative effect of positive feedback and the positive effect of negative feedback on idea implementation. These findings offer rich insights to understand the phenomenon of open innovation better. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The Impact of Cognitive Style on User Preference Based on Usability and Aesthetics for Computer-Based Systems

Understanding target users is a crucial issue in establishing design and marketing strategies for computer-based applications. To contribute to the comprehension of target users, this study examines the effect of cognitive style (imagers vs. verbalizers) on user preference based on perceived usability and perceived aesthetics through an experiment using four simulated systems with different levels of usability and aesthetics. Forty-two imagers and 31 verbalizers participated in the experiment. The results of the analyses of variance indicated that, before actual use, the effect of the aesthetics factor on user preference was significantly different between imagers and verbalizers but that of the usability factor was not. The difference between imagers and verbalizers with respect to the effect of the aesthetics/usability factor on time performance was not sufficiently demonstrated, nor was the difference between the two cognitive styles with regard to the effect of the aesthetics/usability factor on user preference after actual use. For the combined experimental data of users' responses before and after actual use, the interaction effect between cognitive styles and actual use on user preference was not significant. Some possible reasons for these results and the possibilities of an important role of cognitive style in users' preference making are discussed here. Further studies are necessary to better examine the impact of cognitive style.     

集成偏好的高维多目标最优软件产品选择算法

在基于搜索的软件工程研究领域,高维多目标最优软件产品选择问题是当前的一个研究热点.既往工作主要采用后验方式（即先搜索再选择）处理软件工程师或终端用户的偏好.与此不同,将用户偏好集成于优化过程,提出了一种新算法以定向搜索用户最感兴趣的软件产品.在算法中,运用权向量表达用户偏好,采用成就标量化函数（achievement scalarizing function,简称ASF）集成各个优化目标,并定义一种新关系比较个体之间的优劣.为了增强算法快速搜索到有效解的能力,分别采用DPLL/CDCL类型和随机局部搜索（SLS）类型可满足性（SAT）求解器实现了替换算子和修复算子.为了验证新算法的有效性,采用21个广泛使用的特征模型进行仿真实验,其中最大特征数为62482,最大约束数为343 944.实验结果表明,基于DPLL/CDCL类型SAT求解器的替换算子有助于算法返回有效软件产品;基于SLS类型SAT求解器的修复算子有助于快速搜索到尽可能满足用户偏好的最终产品.在处理带偏好的高维多目标最优软件产品选择问题时,综合运用两类SAT求解器是一种行之有效的方法.     

Development of an Adaptive EC Website With Online Identified Cognitive Styles of Anonymous Customers

This study developed an adaptive electronic commerce (EC) website based on users' cognitive styles without asking users to complete any evaluation forms. In this system, a multilayer feed forward neural network (MLFF) was designed to identify the cognitive styles of anonymous users by observing their browsing behavior. Then the system presented the adaptive interfaces, designed by investigating the relationships between users' cognitive styles and browsing behavior, to users based on the identified cognitive styles. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the system. The experimental results verified the potential benefits of MLFF in identifying anonymous users' cognitive styles during browsing of EC applications and provided evidence that an adaptive EC website that presents product data consistent with the users' cognitive styles can be beneficial to one-to-one Internet marketing not only for users whose cognitive styles are known before browsing but also for anonymous users whose cognitive styles are identified during browsing.     

Beyond the User Preferences: Aligning the Prototype Design to the Users’ Expectations

It is important for practitioners to conceptualize and tailor a prototype in tune with the users’ expectations in the early stages of the design life cycle so the modifications of the product design in advanced phases are kept to a minimum. According to user preference studies, the aesthetic and the usability of a system play an important role in the user appraisal and selection of a product. However, user preferences are just a part of the equation. The fact that a user prefers one product over the other does not mean that he or she would necessarily buy it. To understand the factors affecting the user's assessment of a product before the actual use of the product and the user's intention to purchase the product we conducted a study, reported in this article. Our study, a modification of a well‐known protocol, considers the users’ preferences of six simulated smartphones each with different combination of attributes. A sample consisting of 365 participants was involved in our analysis. Our results confirm that the main basis for the users’ pre‐use preferences is the aesthetics of the product, whereas our results suggest that the main basis for the user's intention to purchase are the expected usability of the product. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the personal characteristics of the users have different effects on both the users’ preferences and their intention to purchase a product. These results suggest that the designers should carefully balance the aesthetics and usability features of a prototype in tune with the users expectations. If the conceptualization of a product is done properly the redesign cycles after the usability testing can be reduced and speed up the process for releasing the product on the market.