Hedonic Ones Research Articles

Understanding Relations Between Product Icon Type, Feature Type, and Abstraction: Evidence From ERPs and Eye-Tracking Studys

The representation and recognition of icons play a crucial role in interface interaction efficiency and user experience within human–computer interaction. However, the intricate relationship between product icon types, feature types, and abstraction in cognitive contexts has yet to be clarified. This study aimed to delve into the cognitive mechanisms concerning practical and hedonic product icons across varying abstraction levels using EEG analysis. Moreover, it investigated how the explicitness and implicitness of these icons and their abstraction levels influence recognition efficiency via eye-tracking studies. In Experiment A, a high abstraction level led to prolonged reaction times (RTs), reduced accuracy rate (ACC), more negative N400, and decreased late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes. These outcomes suggested increased effort, heightened semantic conflict, and negative emotional engagement. Moreover, at middle abstraction levels, RTs were consistently longer for hedonic product icons compared to practical ones. Additionally, both N400 and LPP amplitudes were notably larger for hedonic product icons. In Experiment B, eye-tracking results revealed that compared with implicit features, the change of abstraction degree of explicit features is more likely to increase the number of fixation points and RTs of users. Specifically, functional explicit features wielded the greatest impact on overall icon cognitive efficiency. Synthesizing both experiments revealed significant differences in abstraction requirements for practical vs. hedonic product icons. A practical implication arises: moderate overall abstraction suits practical product icons, while higher abstraction suits hedonic ones. Among features, it’s essential to avoid excessive abstraction in functional and symbolic aspects, while simplifying or removing area line features and chamfered elements can be beneficial. This study contributes to Internet of Things (IoT) icon research, offering potential guidance for graphic designers in crafting user-friendly icons.

Literary communities in social media: the influence of motivations on engagement and purchase intention in women

A decreasing trend in young people's recreational reading habits has been observed worldwide. On the other hand, young people's daily use of social media has increased dramatically in recent years. With this evolution, different literary communities and influencers also emerged on social media.
 It is necessary to understand the motivations that lead users to engage in social media to maintain an active and involved community. Researchers have already discussed a core set of motivations to participate in online communities. However, most studies focus on brand communities, and few analyze literary communities' specific cases.
 There are various motivations for participating in communities. However, we highlight the social motivations (meeting people, being part of the community, sharing information, listening to other opinions) and hedonic ones (because participating in them is a pleasant, fun, enjoyable activity).
 Engagement in social media can be measured through a passive attitude of lurkers who only see published content or an active attitude when users comment and publish content on social media, generating discussion and interaction in the community.
 On the other hand, some studies in other areas show that intention and propensity to purchase can be affected by many factors, such as social and hedonic motivations. Could also these motivations influence intention to purchase books?
 This study aims to study the influence of hedonic and social motivations to participate in literary communities on social media engagement and book purchase intention. A quantitative methodology was used, with a sample of N= 272 female participants in literary communities on social media. The data was analyzed through the modeling of structural equations by the AMOS software. Results show that social motivations are positively related to the level of engagement in literary communities on social media. Additionally, this study revealed that hedonic motivations influence book purchase intention.

Psychological Examination of Political Philosophies: Interrelationship Among Citizenship, Justice, and Well-Being in Japan.

This paper examines assumptions concerning the relationship between citizenship, justice, and well-being, based on representative political philosophies, including egoism, utilitarianism, libertarianism, liberalism, and communitarianism. A previous paper raised the possibility of an inter-disciplinary framework for collaboration between psychology and political philosophy. This study picks up that thread and attempts to actualize a collaborative research effort based on a framework grounded in positive political psychology. The first part of this study reflects on the methodology situated between empirical psychology and philosophy in reference to the debates caused by psychological and philosophical situationism. In response to its criticism against virtue ethics, the possibility of reconstructing it on empirical psychology has paradoxically emerged. Similarly, this study validates assumptions on political philosophies employing the psychological method concerning well-being. Accordingly, the central part examines the plausibility of the assumptions by empirical evidence obtained from two internet surveys (2020, N = 5000; 2021, N = 6885) in Japan. The relationships between citizenship, justice, and well-being are the most substantial in the communitarian assumption. The exploratory factor analysis of the two surveys illuminates that the correlations between citizenship, justice, and well-being (or political well-being) are substantial. This relationship denies the egoism assumption. Moreover, almost all correlations between the three are higher based on virtue-related indicators than hedonic ones. These findings are not in tune with the utilitarian assumption and are most congruent to the communitarian assumption. In addition, citizenship and justice correlate more with political well-being than overall well-being. As these are more directly associated with political well-being in the communitarian assumption, this result aligns with the assumption. Furthermore, the positive relationship between disparity elimination and well-being fits the liberal rather than the libertarian assumption. Nevertheless, the substantial correlation between ethical justice and well-being is higher by virtue-related indicators than hedonic indicators, suggesting distributive justice is associated with the ethical dimension. Again, this fits the communitarian assumption rather than the liberal assumption. Thus, philosophical psychology empirically verifies the interdependence of the three conceptions and the relative plausibility of the communitarian assumption. Moreover, as the relationship between the three is essential for political philosophies, the result increases the reliability of communitarianism.

Why Binge-Watching? The Prominent Motives and Analysis of the Motivating Hedonic and Eudaimonic Elements of Emotional Gratification in a Binge-Watching Experience

Binge-watching is a popular form of media consumption, and entertainment is one of the main drivers of this activity. This research aims to examine the prominent reasons for binge-watching by re-examining the established television viewing motives, by deepening the analysis of entertainment motives, and by introducing a new possible motive – the need for narrative understanding. Therefore, the researcher combines the factors of the established television viewing motives, the factors of hedonic and eudaimonic emotional gratification in an entertainment experience and introduces the motive of the ease of following storylines. The results of an online survey with 833 participants over the age of eighteen conducted in Croatia suggest that the motives of relaxation, fun (hedonic), habit, easier following of intricate storylines, escape, and thrill (hedonic) are prominent. Eudaimonic motives are less pronounced than hedonic ones, however, these clusters are positively related, which indicates the complexity of enjoyment in binge-watching entertainment.

O papel de motivações utilitárias e hedônicas na cocriação de valor e sua relação com a experiência no AIRBNB


 
 
 
 O artigo investiga o papel de motivações utilitárias e hedônicas na cocriação de valor e sua relação com a experiência de consumo em serviços de hospedagem oferecido por plataforma de consumo colaborativo: o AirBnb. Baseado na literatura sobre economia compartilhada e consumo colaborativo, hipóteses foram formuladas e um modelo conceitual proposto. Um survey com 967 respondentes foi conduzido e os dados foram analisados por meio da técnica de modelagem de equações estruturais. Verificou-se que as motivações de cunho utilitário não apresentam relação com cocriação de valor e experiência de consumo, diferentemente das motivações hedônicas que apresentaram associação positiva com ambas variáveis. Ademais, os achados evidenciaram que cocriação de valor, além de anteceder a experiência de consumo, assume papel mediador da relação entre motivações hedônicas e experiência de consumo. Esta pesquisa traz contribuições importantes para a área, uma vez traz evidência empírica do papel que motivações hedônicas exerce em práticas de consumo colaborativo, mais especificamente em serviços de hospedagem compartilhada. Além disso, consubstancia estudos anteriores que reconhecem a cocriação de valor enquanto aspecto importante na oferta de experiência positivas em serviços de hospitalidade e turismo.
 
 
 

Aesthetic Appreciation and the Dependence Between Deep and Surface Interpretation

Aesthetic Appreciation and the Dependence Between Deep and Surface Interpretation

A Literature Review of the Partial Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) Model

<p><strong>Theoretical background:</strong> Today, people use more systems and devices than ever, no matter the context. These behaviors are most often explained using technology acceptance models, including the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2), which is a new and prominent technology acceptance theory.</p><p><strong>Purpose of the article:</strong> The aim of this article is to identify any interpretable trends and draw overall conclusions about the existing UTAUT2 literature, which helps to fill the gap which is lack of such review for UTAUT2 model.</p><p><strong>Research methods:</strong> Descriptive review analysis of 23 articles based on the partial UTAUT2 model.</p><p><strong>Main findings:</strong> The UTAUT2 is an efficient theory – the average explained variance of behavioral intention was 62% and for use behavior – 37%. It is highly recommended to use the performance expectancy variable in all research contexts based on the UTAUT2 model. Utilitarian aspects turned out to be more important than hedonic ones for most technology adopters. Commercial organisations should focus on delivering reliable and useful products and underline these features in marketing communication.</p>

Why do we entertain ourselves with media narratives? A theory of resonance perspective on entertainment experiences

ABSTRACTWhy do we entertain ourselves with media narratives? Although the most recent answer to this question (Oliver et al., 2018) provides a far more complex understanding of entertainment use compared to earlier theorizing, it still leaves important questions unanswered. Our primary ambition here is to introduce a new theoretical perspective that may be used to explain entertainment experiences on the basis of the sociological theory of resonance (Rosa, 2018). This theory focusses on genuine, ‘vibrant’ connections individuals can have with others and with the world. Our thesis is that this form of connection resembles what in more recent theories of entertainment is labelled eudaimonic experiences. But while these eudaimonic experiences are often seen as complementing hedonic ones, we propose to categorically distinguish between the two with only regarding the hedonic dimension as entertaining and the eudaimonic one as ‘resonant’ relationship. From this point of view, media narratives are selected either for their impact on a user’s affective states or for their potential to provide a user with a resonant connection. This conceptualization not only allows to answer some of the still open questions in entertainment theory but to also include the social and historical context of entertainment use.

Experiential tourist shopping value: Adding causality to value dimensions and testing their subjectivity

AbstractPrevious literature on consumer behavior has tackled the experiential approach in retailing services in depth; however, most of the previous studies have concentrated on the simultaneous but not concatenated effects of value dimensions on satisfaction and/or loyalty. Furthermore, tourists' shopping behavior remains an underdeveloped area of study from the experiential perspective. This work explores experiential tourist shopping value, aiming to (a) explain tourists' loyalty to retailers by adding causality to experiential dimensions and (b) prove the subjectivity of these values.After a diachronic and synchronic review of the literature on experiential shopping value, a structural model with a chain of effects consisting of product quality, service quality, self‐esteem and shopping enjoyment on loyalty, and a multidimensional index as a second‐order model were built with partial least squares and tested on a purposive sample of 374 tourists in Valencia (Spain).Our findings revealed a sequential approach to tourists' shopping experiences where utilitarian values led to social and hedonic ones, all of which were antecedents of loyalty to retailers. Furthermore, the index showed differences by gender and nationality. Although our results are context specific, they add to the value creation process as they show a sequence of effects, and a fully subjective value provision, which changes according to demographics.The originality of this work is that it contributes to the suitability of the experiential paradigm in explaining tourists' shopping behavior by promoting interest in this specific, underdeveloped target area, and also by adding causality and proving the subjectivity of experiential value dimensions.

Design for Affect: A Core Competency for the 21st Century

Abstract Consumers purchase products with the objective of reducing pain, increasing pleasure or both. Product aesthetics primarily contribute to enhancing consumer pleasure, and utilitarian attributes, such as product functionality, primarily help reduce consumer pain. So the question is how consumers choose between the goals of reducing pain and enhancing pleasure. In the case of functional dominance, consumers attach greater importance to fulfilling their minimum utilitarian needs over their minimum hedonic ones. By contrast, if consumers have to choose between two products, and one product meets their minimum functional requirement but exceeds their minimum aesthetic expectations, while the other meets their minimum aesthetic expectations but exceeds their minimum functional requirement, they select the product with superior aesthetics. A balanced design with an optimal combination of attributes and emotional experiences will reach a greater price on the market and insure higher profits.

How sensory and hedonic quality attributes affect fresh red meat consumption decision of Turkish consumers

The aim of the study is to explore how the sensory and hedonic quality attributes of the fresh red meat affect its consumption preference and amounts of Turkish consumers. The data obtained from 385 households in Erzurum were used for Principal Component (PCA), K-means Cluster and Multiple Regression/Correlation (MRC) Analyses. The results of the study highlighted considerably that the sensory quality attributes on their consumption preference had a much bigger effect than the hedonic ones for each cluster. However, its price and their income accepted as the important indicators of the hedonic ones, but a much lower impact on all clusters.

Determination Of Customer Preferences For Benefits Provided By Sales Promotion At Shopping Centres In Lithuania

Abstract The intensifying competition forces organizations to search for various measures which could help in persuading consumer to buy a product. Consequently, the attention to customer attraction is growing enormously. One of marketing measures used for this purpose is sales promotion. However, many measures of this marketing tool used by the companies do not attract consumers and end in failure. The article is aimed to determine customer preferences for benefits provided by sales promotion at shopping centres in Lithuania. Based on the results of questionnaire research the main conclusion is that customers of shopping centres in Lithuania are mainly driven by the utilitarian benefits of sales promotion, and are not affected by hedonic ones.

The Role of Product‐Premium Fit in Determining the Effectiveness of Hedonic and Utilitarian Premiums

ABSTRACTThis research explores how the effectiveness of hedonic and utilitarian premiums is contingent with the degree of product‐premium fit. It is proposed that the effectiveness of utilitarian/hedonic premiums is higher at a high/low degree of fit between the premium and the focal product. Specifically, a series of three experimental studies were conducted. Consistent with expectations, Study 1 found that at high product‐premium fit utilitarian premiums were preferred over hedonic ones, while Study 2 revealed that hedonic ones were preferred at a low‐fit condition. To further validate these preliminary results, Study 3 developed a full factorial experimental design wherein the interaction effect between the nature of the premium and product‐premium fit on consumers’ liking, purchase intention and positive word‐of‐mouth was evaluated. This study confirmed the existence of a significant interaction effect and the direction of the simple effects was consistent with findings from Studies 1 and 2. However, the differences were only significant at a low‐fit condition.

Investigating the Moderating Impact of Hedonism on Online Consumer Behavior

Abstract Considering the benefits for both consumers and suppliers, firms are taking advantage of the Internet as a medium to communicate with and sell products to their consumers. This trend makes the online shopping environment a growing field for both researchers and practitioners. This paper contributes by testing a model of online consumer behavior with websites varying in levels of hedonism. Unlike past studies, we included all three types of emotions (arousal, pleasure, and dominance) and flow into the model. In this study, we assumed that website interfaces, such as background colors, music, and fonts impact the three types of emotions at the initial exposure to the site (Mazaheri, Richard, and Laroche, 2011). In turn, these emotions influence flow and consumers' perceptions of the site atmospherics—perception of site informativeness, effectiveness, and entertainment. This assumption is consistent with Zajonc (1980) who argued that affective reactions are independent of perceptual and cognitive operations and can influence responses. We, then, propose that the perceptions of site atmospherics along with flow, influence customers' attitudes toward the website and toward the product, site involvement, and purchase intentions. In addition, we studied the moderating impact of the level of hedonism of websites on all the relationship in the model. Thus, the path coefficients were compared between “high” and “low” hedonic websites. We used 39 real websites from 12 product categories (8 services and 4 physical goods) to test the model. Among them, 20 were perceived as high hedonic and 19 as low hedonic by the respondents. The result of EQS 6.1 support the overall model: χ2 =1787 (df=504), CFI=.994; RMSEA=.031. All the hypotheses were significant. In addition, the results of multi-groups analyses reveal several non-invariant structural paths between high and low hedonic website groups. The findings supported the model regarding the influence of the three types of emotions on customers' perceptions of site atmospherics, flow, and other customer behavior variables. It was found that pleasure strongly influenced site attitudes and perceptions of site entertainment. Arousal positively impacted the other two types of emotions, perceptions of site informativeness, and site involvement. Additionally, the influence of arousal on flow was found to be highly significant. The results suggested a strong association between dominance and customers' perceptions of site effectiveness. Dominance was also found to be associated with site attitudes and flow. Moreover, the findings suggested that site involvement and attitudes toward the product are the most important antecedents of purchase intentions. Site informativeness and flow also significantly influenced purchase intentions. The results of multi-group analysis supported the moderating impacts of hedonism of the websites. Compared to low (high) hedonic sites, the impacts of utilitarian (hedonic) attributes on other variables were stronger in high (low) hedonic websites. Among the three types of emotions, dominance (controlling feelings) effects were stronger in high hedonic sites and pleasure effects were stronger in low hedonic sites. Moreover, the impact of site informativeness was stronger for high hedonic websites compared to their low-hedonic counterparts. On the other hand, the influence of effectiveness of information on perceptions of site informativeness and the impact of site involvement on product attitudes were stronger for low hedonic websites than for high hedonic ones.