Apperception as a multisensory process in material experience

Abstract

Visual perspective has dominated experience research in humantechnology interaction for decades now. The neglect of other sensory modalities is gradually being addressed by scholars and designers, who investigate user experience based on touch, smell, taste, sound and even expressive bodily interactions. In cognitive and affective processes, user experience is always multi-modal, not just regarding perceived multi-sensory information, but also while perceiving through one modality we mentally construct information relevant to the other senses. This article reports the results of an experiment, where participants (N = 52) appraised materials either only by touching them or only by seeing. The results indicate that with certain affects, the logic of the appraisal depends on the modality. These results are discussed within the theoretical framework of mental content, apperception, and appraisal. Further, we discuss the relevance of the findings for material design, especially in the context of multimodal interaction.

Creative Interpretation in Web Design Experience

“…We use apperception to describe the process of mentally representing design experience (Saariluoma, 2003;Silvennoinen et al, 2015). This creative act of apperception among people encountering webpage design, involves the compilation of a variety of mentally bound information contents.…”

“…This creative process is influenced by the above-mentioned dimensions and factors, including mental states, and mentally stored multisensory data (Brave and Nass, 2007) -residue from past encounters with material of a similar nature. This act of constructing mental representations from mental contents is referred to as apperception (Saariluoma, 2003;Silvennoinen, Rousi, Jokinen and Perälä, 2015). Apperception is the process whereby new experiences are integrated into a person's past experiences and knowledge (Runes, 1972).…”

Untitled

“…That is, what each individual knows about the world is not based on an exact replica of the physical world; rather, the mental world and its contents are interpretations-reconstructions or compositions-combining the perceived sensory information with various types of other mentally bound information and contents, such as memories and emotions (Helfenstein & Saariluoma, 2006). Thus, it is more apt to describe the perception-experience relationship as apperception (Saariluoma, 2005;Silvennoinen, 2017;Silvennoinen, Rousi, Jokinen, & Perälä, 2015).…”

“…Apperception can be described as "seeing something as something" (Saariluoma, 2005, p. 77). In this apperceptive meaning-making process, already existing mentally based information is integrated with new information obtained through multiple senses and constructed into a meaningful mental representation (Husserl, 1936(Husserl, /1970Kant, 1787Kant, /1998Saariluoma, 1995Saariluoma, , 2003Saariluoma, , 2005Silvennoinen et al, 2015). Experiencing something as something-for instance, microscopic images of snowflakes or even granules of sand (see Figure 2) as complex and intriguing-involves apperceptive attention in detecting meaningful parts of the encountered entity (Saariluoma, 1995).…”

Aesthetic Appeal and Visual Usability in Four Icon Design Eras

“…In this mental process, called apperception, new sensory information, as well as already existing mental information, are integrated into a subjectively meaningful and coherent mental representation. Apperception can thus be described as 'seeing something as something' [22,27,50,56]. For instance, a circle with a line attached to its southwest side (a magnifying glass icon) is associated with 'search' as long as the user has the right mental framework for this interpretation.…”