Textures that we like to touch: An experimental study of aesthetic preferences for tactile stimuli

Abstract

We report two experiments designed to investigate the nature of aesthetic preferences for tactile textures in humans. In Experiment 1, the participants rated their preference for a range of actively and passively explored textures presented on their hands and on their cheeks. The results revealed that those textures that were subjectively-rated as smoother were preferred over those that were rated as rougher. Moreover, certain textures were disliked more during active than during passive stimulation. In Experiment 2, the speed of tactile stimulation was controlled in order to elicit vigorous responses from C-tactile fibers (present only in hairy skin), which are thought to play a central role in pleasant aspects of touch. The results revealed that textures were preferred when presented on the hairy skin of the forearm than on the glabrous palm of the hand. These results provide preliminary evidence regarding people's preferences for different attributes of tactile surface.

Cross-Modal Associations between Color and Haptics

“…Elasticity detached from object identity is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but inelastic objects require more effort to be stretched; adhesiveness is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but separating from adhesive objects requires more effort. It is certainly true that in the experimental conditions participants report some ratings of pleasantness of the tactile sensations (Etzi, Spence, & Gallace, 2014;Verrillo, Bolanowski, & McGlone, 1999). However, when one is explicitly asked to rate the pleasantness of the experience, certain pleasantness ratings are granted.…”

“…Apart from such purely theoretical speculation, it is worth noting that the findings in the literature on hedonic ratings of tactile sensations cannot support the assumption of the preference-based match between saturated colors and haptic sensations of intermediate intensity. With regard to the tactile pleasantness, the literature has systematically shown that smooth surfaces are considered pleasant while rough surfaces are considered unpleasant (Etzi, Spence, & Gallace, 2014;Ripin & Lazarsfeld, 1937;Verrillo, Bolanowski, & McGlone, 1999). It is worth noting that research on hedonic ratings of tactile sensations has traditionally focused on properties of roughness/smoothness and stiffness/softness.…”

Extending the reach of social touch through haptic technology

“…While CT afferents may have a special role in processing social and affective aspects of touch, socially relevant or pleasant touches can also stem from stimulation of myelinated nerve fibers in the glabrous skin [153,171,356]. When out shopping for a new couch, for example, you will most likely touch the fabric of the couch with the glabrous skin of your hand to assess how pleasant it feels, rather than use any of your hairy skin.…”

Texture design for skin friction and touch perception of stainless steel surfaces

“…Tactile perception of surfaces is an essential aspect of our daily life and has a profound importance for our well -being (Etzi et al, 2014). The introduction of haptic interfaces that rely on texture discrimination tasks might enhance this importance greatly.…”

“…The introduction of haptic interfaces that rely on texture discrimination tasks might enhance this importance greatly. As such, it is highly relevant to develop knowledge for the design of surface textures that we like to touch (Etzi et al, 2014), give pleasure and that e.g. enables us to perform touch based control tasks in reliable way (Mizuhara et al, 2013).…”