Abstract
“Iyashi” in the Japanese language, is used for goods, which people use to recover from the physical and psychological stress. If the healing emotion is observed when the consumer touches the fabric by hand, it is worthwhile to investigate the contribution of fabric property. This study approached both fundamental physical properties of fabrics and subjective evaluation to explore the contribution of fabric to emotional healing. Two sensory experiments were carried out. Participants (n=22) considered the fluffy fur as most likely to generate the healing emotion. “Healing feeling” was described as the combination in terms of “soft”, “fluffy” and “smooth” perception for fabric samples. In the sensory evaluation of healing toys by hand, results of factor analysis, the first factor of “healing emotion” was the “surface factor”, including “slippery”, “smooth”, “want to keep touching”, “comfortable”, “feel healing”, and “soft”. In terms of the physical properties of the fabric, the fabric with lower MMD (mean deviation of MIU) was preferable. The findings from this study can contribute to the evaluation and design of soft toys and clothing in satisfying the “healing emotion” of humans.
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