Processing fluency, processing style, and aesthetic response to artistic photographs.

We propose that aesthetic pleasure is a funnction of the perceiver's processing dynamics: The more fluently perceivers can process an object, the more positive their aesthetic response. We review variables known to influence aesthetic judgments, such as figural goodness, figure-ground contrast, stimulus repetition, symmetry, and prototypicality, and trace their effects to changes in processing fluency. Other variables that influence processing fluency, like visual or semantic priming, similarly increase judgments of aesthetic pleasure. Our proposal provides an integrative framework for the study of aesthetic pleasure and sheds light on the interplay between early preferences versus cultural influences on taste, preferences for both prototypical and abstracted forms, and the relation between beauty and truth. In contrast to theories that trace aesthetic pleasure to objective stimulus features per se, we propose that beauty is grounded in the processing experiences of the perceiver, which are in part a function of stimulus properties.

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Too new or too complex? Why consumers’ aesthetic sensitivity matters in apparel design evaluation

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management ◽

10.1108/jfmm-10-2016-0092 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 262-276 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christin Seifert ◽

Veena Chattaraman

Keyword(s):

Low Complexity ◽

Joint Effect ◽

Processing Fluency ◽

Aesthetic Response ◽

High Complexity ◽

Apparel Design ◽

Content Type ◽

The Individual ◽

Design Factors ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the individual and joint effects of collative design factors, complexity and novelty, on aesthetic response to apparel products; and whether the influence of these factors is moderated by consumers’ centrality of visual product aesthetics (CVPA). Design/methodology/approach A mixed factorial experimental design, using women’s tops with design complexity and novelty (high vs low) manipulated orthogonally, was conducted among 260 female participants to test the model and its corresponding hypotheses. Findings Consumers’ aesthetic response was more positive for high than low complexity and novelty apparel designs. Further, when viewed in combination, high complexity + low novelty and low complexity + high novelty apparel designs were favored over high complexity + high novelty and low complexity + low novelty apparel designs, respectively. High CVPA consumers were more distinguishing than low CVPA consumers with respect to novelty in apparel designs. Practical implications This study suggests that firms need to be aware that complexity and novelty are crucial for consumers when judging apparel designs. Originality/value This study fills an important knowledge gap in the aesthetics literature by drawing on the processing fluency theory and Wundt curve and considering the joint effect of novelty and complexity, both critical determinants of a product’s marketplace success.

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Perfect social media image posts: symmetry and contrast influence consumer response

European Journal of Marketing ◽

10.1108/ejm-09-2018-0629 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Alena Kostyk ◽

Bruce A. Huhmann

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Structural Properties ◽

Image Contrast ◽

Marketing Communications ◽

Processing Fluency ◽

Social Media Marketing ◽

Aesthetic Response ◽

Consumer Engagement ◽

Content Type ◽

Horizontal Symmetry

Purpose Two studies investigate how different structural properties of images – symmetry (vertical and horizontal) and image contrast – affect social media marketing outcomes of consumer liking and engagement. Design/methodology/approach In Study 1’s experiment, 361 participants responded to social media marketing images that varied in vertical or horizontal symmetry and level of image contrast. Study 2 analyzes field data on 610 Instagram posts. Findings Study 1 demonstrates that vertical or horizontal symmetry and high image contrast increase consumer liking of social media marketing images, and that processing fluency and aesthetic response mediate these relationships. Study 2 reveals that symmetry and high image contrast improve consumer engagement on social media (number of “likes” and comments). Research limitations/implications These studies extend theory regarding processing fluency’s and aesthetic response’s roles in consumer outcomes within social media marketing. Image posts’ structural properties affect processing fluency and aesthetic response without altering brand information or advertising content. Practical implications Because consumer liking of marketing communications (e.g. social media posts) predicts persuasion and sales, results should help marketers design more effective posts and achieve brand-building and behavioral objectives. Based on the results, marketers are urged to consider the processing fluency and aesthetic response associated with any image developed for social media marketing. Originality/value Addressing the lack of empirical investigations in the existing literature, the reported studies demonstrate that effects of symmetry and image contrast in generating liking are driven by processing fluency and aesthetic response. Additionally, these studies establish novel effects of images’ structural properties on consumer engagement with brand-based social media marketing communications.

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Disfluent, But Fast

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000456 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 66 (5) ◽

pp. 346-354

Author(s):

Štěpán Bahník

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processing ◽

Response Times ◽

Processing Fluency ◽

Retrieval Fluency ◽

Decision Times

Abstract. Processing fluency, a metacognitive feeling of ease of cognitive processing, serves as a cue in various types of judgments. Processing fluency is sometimes evaluated by response times, with shorter response times indicating higher fluency. The present study examined existence of the opposite association; that is, it tested whether disfluency may lead to faster decision times when it serves as a strong cue in judgment. Retrieval fluency was manipulated in an experiment using previous presentation and phonological fluency by varying pronounceability of pseudowords. Participants liked easy-to-pronounce and previously presented words more. Importantly, their decisions were faster for hard-to-pronounce and easy-to-pronounce pseudowords than for pseudowords moderate in pronounceability. The results thus showed an inverted-U shaped relationship between fluency and decision times. The findings suggest that disfluency can lead to faster decision times and thus demonstrate the importance of separating different processes comprising judgment when response times are used as a measure of processing fluency.

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