Perceived artefact rationality, valence and visual attention

Abstract: The relation between the perceived rational qualities of artefacts, its visual properties, and valence based preference responses was investigated in two experiments. Perceived rationality was approached as a complex of qualities, which could be assessed, in semantic rating scales. Experiment 1 showed that perceived rationality was largely independent of form and colour and participants tended to associate perceived rationality with high prototypicality and a low degree of articulation (i.e. amount of decoration). Experiment 2 investigated which objects participants spontaneously preferred to look at by the means of eye tracking. Participant's fixations were shown to divert from objects with high-perceived rationality. It is suggested that perceived rationality is largely independent of preference in terms of valence but prolonged exposure to an artefact could affect valence. The current results is foremost applicable to choices where emotional and design concerns is of primary importance or to choices between objects of similar quality and price.