Predicting Aesthetic Preferences: Does the Big-Five Matters?

Abstract

User experience is imperative for the success of interactive products. User experience is notably affected by user preferences; the higher the preference, the better the user experience. The way users develop their preferences are closely related to personality traits. However, there is a void in understanding the association between personality traits and aesthetic dimensions that may potentially explain how users develop their preferences. This paper examines the relationship between the Big-Five personality traits (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) and the two dimensions of aesthetics (classical aesthetics, expressive aesthetics). Two hundred twenty participants completed the Big-Five questionnaire and rated their preference for each of the ten images of web pages on a 7point Likert scale. Results show Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism were not significantly correlated with aesthetic dimensions. Only Agreeableness showed a significant correlation (although weakly) with both classical and expressive aesthetics. The finding conforms to literature that personality traits have influence on the preference of individual design features in lieu of aesthetic dimensions. In other words, personality traits are inapt predictor of aesthetic dimension. Therefore, more studies are needed to explore other factors that potentially help to predict aesthetic dimensions.