Visual – tactual incongruities as sources of surprise

Geke Ludden, Industrial Design, Delft University of Technology

Abstract
The perception of a product through one sensory modality can create an expectation on what will be perceived through other modalities. However, the sensory information perceived may disconfirm the expectation formed, resulting in a surprise reaction.
In a series of experiments, we studied users’ reactions to products with visual – tactual incongruities. We distinguish between two groups of products that are hypothesized to evoke two different surprise types. Products in the Visible Novelty group look unfamiliar and, therefore, yield an uncertain expectation. Products in the Hidden Novelty group look familiar, but appear to be very different when touched. In addition, we included a control group of products without visual – tactual incongruities. Several measures were used: self-reports of the intensity and the pleasantness of the surprise, analysis of exploratory behaviour, and analysis of facial expression.
We found a clear difference in users’ reactions between the control group and the two surprise groups in most measures. In most cases, the surprises were evaluated as pleasant, but in some cases they appeared unpleasant. Reactions towards products in the two surprise types differed only slightly.
We discuss our findings with reference to theories on the integration of sensory information and the aesthetic appreciation of products.

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