Why we like to touch: Consumers' tactile esthetic appreciation explained by a balanced combination of unity and variety in product designs

Abstract

Tactile experiences are a pivotal part of consumer behavior and choice. However, very little is known about why consumers esthetically appreciate touching products.The principle of Unity-in-Variety, stating that consumers like to perceive variety but only when this variety is presented as a coherent whole, has been shown to partly explain consumers' esthetic appreciation in the visual domain. We theorize that the psychological mechanisms underlying the esthetic principle of Unity-in-Variety are modality-independent, and therefore that this principle also applies to consumers' tactile esthetic appreciation. Across three studies, using existing products and novel 3D printed product designs systematically manipulated along the perceptual dimensions of unity and variety, we show that both unity and variety independently contribute to tactile esthetic appreciation. Furthermore, because unity and variety are inherently partial opposites, esthetic appreciation of products is highest when both unity and variety are simultaneously maximized.

A review of touch research in consumer psychology

“…Gender slightly affected both functionality and novelty of product concepts. Using both existing and new products, Post et al (2023) explored why consumers aesthetically appreciate touching products and manipulated both design unity and variety. They found that people like haptic variety but only if it presented as a coherent whole.…”

Empowering design literacy: a toolkit for promoting the design of positive experiences through rules of thumb

“…easier (Reber et al 2004). The principle of "unity-in-diversity" according to Post et al (2013) states that designs that maintain unity in as much diversity as is justifiable are the most aesthetically pleasing.…”

The proximal self: Why material objects are particularly relevant for consumers' self‐definition

“…First, our research highlights a potentially important quality of material possessions that has been neglected in existing research: Bodily proximity to material possessions may support consumers in feeling close to self‐relevant entities that are physically and mentally distant. Second, in identifying this proximity‐seeking behavior, our paper extends research on compensatory consumption and need‐for‐touch effects (e.g., Keefer et al, 2012; Peck & Shu, 2009; Post el al., 2023). As such, the value of bodily proximity to self‐relevant objects may derive not only from a distance‐reducing function to their associated meaning, but also from their quality of providing a material reference point in situations of anxiety.…”