People and products sxsw

Products and People:Is there a synergistic relationship?

By Jordan Licero

Presentation Outline

Background

Objectives and Hypotheses

Methods and Procedure

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Future Research

Why aren’t people sitting in the chairs?

Human Features that Attract

Smiling faces are attractive

People looking directly into camera captures the eyes

Reward regions of the brain are activated

An attractive model in direct mail advertisements increases product sales (Caballero & Pride, 1984)

An attractive spokesperson in television advertisements (Petroshius & Croker, 1989)

An attractive model in posters does not increase product sales (Caballero & Solomon, 1984)

Background

Attractiveness and Aesthetics

Perceived comfort increased as aesthetics increased when viewing chairs (Helander, 2010)

Aesthetics influence the pleasure derived from the use of a product (Jordan, 1997)

Berlyne’s Aesthetic Theory

Background

Pupillary Responses

Background

Pupillometry Measurement of the pupil’s

diameter as it reacts to various and specific stimuli

Both eyes simultaneously react Pupil area and pupil diameter

have both been used to determine pupillary responses

Impossible for humans to suppress pupil dilation and constriction

Pupillary Responses

Background

Sphinter Pupillae Activated to constrict the pupil to restrict light entering

eye

Dilator Pupillae Activated to dilate the pupil to let more light enter the eye

Pupil can constrict to a diameter of 1.5 mm and can dilate to a diameter 8-9 mm

A reaction to a visual image occurs in as little as 0.2 seconds, with the response peaking from 0.5 to 1 second

Pupillary Reactions

Background

Dilate when: Viewing an attractive stimulus,

as seen through sexual stimuli Low light levels Recognition memory Increased cognitive effort

and task difficulty

Constrict when: Viewing unattractive stimulus High light levels Unrecognized, new stimuli Decreased cognitive effort Constricted

Eye Movements

Background

Fixations: A relatively motionless gaze at a specific area on a visual

display Lasts about 200-300 milliseconds Visual information is generally only perceived during

fixations points

Saccades: Continuous, rapid movement between fixation points

Eye Tracking Technology Measures fixations durations, number of fixations, and

areas of focus Infrared light that illuminates the eye, which creates

highly visible reflections from the cornea and pupil.

Complexity

Background

Two ways of varying complexity: Increased number of objects Increased dissimilarity of objects or materials

Number of Fixations: Increases with complexity

Fixation Duration: Increases with complexity

Designer Status Differences

Background

Number of Fixations: More fixations made by artists compared to non-artists

Fixation Duration: Shorter fixations made by artists compared to non-artists

Viewing Pattern: Scattered viewing patterns made by artists compared to

non-artists, who focus on main object

Gender Differences

Background

Stimuli of human faces More fixations made by females compared to males Shorter fixation durations made by females compared to

males

Non-human face stimuli Fewer fixations made by females compared to males Inconclusive on fixation durations

This study aims to answer:

How is product attractiveness influenced by the presence and attractiveness of a person?

Is pupil dilation an objective measure of overall image attractiveness?

How does image complexity systematically affect eye movement patterns?

Are there designer status or gender differences in viewing patterns and attractiveness ratings?


Hypotheses:

1. Images with human models present will receive higher perceived attractiveness ratings compared to those without models present.

2. The higher the perceived attractiveness rating of the human model, the greater the difference between the attractiveness rating of the image with the model minus the attractiveness rating of the image without the model.

3. The pupil will dilate more as the perceived image attractiveness increases.

4. The pupil will constrict when viewing simple images and dilate when viewing moderately complex images.


Hypotheses:

5. Simple images will have fewer fixation points and shorter average fixation durations, while moderately complex images will have more fixation points and longer average fixation durations.

6. When viewing complex images, participants will primarily focus on the human model, but when viewing simple images, participants will focus primarily on the chair.

7. Males will have larger average pupil area, fewer fixations, longer fixation durations, and different areas of focus compared to females.

8. Designers will have smaller average pupil area, more fixations, shorter fixation durations, and different areas of focus compared to non-designers.


Stimuli

32 total images using 16 chairs and 8 models 16 images of a chair against a white background 16 images of a human model in the chair looking directly

at the camera against a white background


Simple Moderately Complex

Human Models

8 female models Dressed in black coat and dark colored pants Neutral face In two stimuli each


Software & Participants

Eye Tracking Software: GazeTracker v9.0 and FaceLAB 4.5

Participants: 32 participants recruited from SUSAN 16 males and 16 females 16 designers and 16 non-designers All Cornell undergraduate students No glasses; Non-smokers Did not recognize human

models used in study


Procedure

Participants welcomed to Cornell HCI Usability Lab

Set up eye-tracking system

Adjust table height

Calibrate gaze


Procedure

Show participants all 32 stimuli for 2 seconds each, with 2 seconds of a white slide between each stimulus

Verbally rate the perceived attractiveness of each image

Verbally rate the perceived attractiveness of each model


Data Analysis

Use FaceLAB and GazeTracker v9.0 Average pupil area of each white slide and stimulus Fixations Heatmaps Gazetrails Lookzones

Use Bruel and Kjaer luminance contrast meter (type 1100) Overall image luminance White slide luminance Model Face luminance

Excel file

Multivariate statistical package (SPSS v19)


Image Attractiveness and Image Complexity

Results

Image attractiveness is significantly positively associated with image complexity

12% interindividual variability, 88% residual variability

Image Attractiveness and Image Complexity

Results

Females rated the attractiveness of images without models higher than males, while males rated attractiveness of images with models higher than females

Image Attractiveness and Model Attractiveness

Results

Image attractiveness is significantly positively associated with model attractiveness

10% interindividual variability, 13% chair-to-chair variability, 77% residual variability

Pupil Area Change

Results

Not Significantly Associated Image attractiveness Model attractiveness Model face luminance Average Number of fixations Log average fixation time

Significantly Negatively Associated Pupil area change and image luminance

(F(1,1012)=42.287, p=0.000)

Significantly Positively Associated Pupil area change and image complexity

(F(1,1010)=33.111, p=0.000)

Pupil Area Change & Image Complexity

Results

On average, pupils dilated by 2.53% when viewing moderately complex images, but further constricted by 2.29% when viewing simple images.

Number of Fixations and Image Complexity

Results

Number of fixations is significantly negatively associated with image complexity



Results

Males had significantly more fixations on moderately complex images compared to simple images, while there were no significant differences of the number of fixations between simple and moderately complex images for females


Results

Designers had significantly more fixations on simple images compared to non-designers, while non-designers had significantly more fixations on moderately complex images compared to designers

Fixation Time and Image Complexity

Results

Log average fixation time is significantly positively associated with image complexity


Fixation Time and Image Complexity

Results

Fixation time was significantly higher for moderately complex images compared to simple images for designers. For non-designers, fixation time was still higher for moderately complex images compared to simple images, but the difference was less than it was for designers.

Heatmaps & Lookzones

Results

Heatmaps showed no gender differences

Females spent an average 61.1% of time viewing faces, while males spent an average 63.9% of time viewing faces.

Females Males

Heatmaps & Lookzones

Results

Heatmaps showed designers had more scattered viewing patterns when viewing the simple images and non-designers were more centrally focused.

Designers spent an average 67.3% of time viewing faces, while non-designers spent an average of 57.4% of time viewing faces.

DesignersNon-Designers

Heatmaps

Results

Heatmaps showed participants focused on the face of the model when the model was present and the chair when the model was not present

Pupillary Response Discussion

Discussion

Previous research has found pupils dilate when viewing attractive stimuli, present research may have found no effect because of confounding variables: Content of stimulus Measuring techniques Timeframe of data collection Separation between stimuli Image luminance Facial luminance Time-of-day Image sequence Recognition memory Cognitive effort and task difficulty

Eye Movement Discussion

Discussion

Previous research has found more, longer fixations would occur as image complexity increased, however the present research may have found fewer, longer fixations occur as image complexity increased because of confounding variables: Timeframe to view stimuli Human model as a way of varying complexity Familiar/Unfamiliar

Designer Status Differences Discussion

Discussion

Previous research has found designers have more, shorter fixations with a more scattered viewing pattern compared to non-designers. Present research aligned with those findings for simple images, but not moderately complex images.

Possible differences between present and prior research: Time allotted for viewing each stimulus Content of stimuli Human model presence

vs

Gender Differences Discussion

Discussion

Previous research has found males rate females more attractive than females, which is aligned with present findings.

Previous research has found males elicited more fixations compared to females, while the present study only found this to be true for simple images

Possible differences between present and prior research: Human model presence

vs

Conclusions

The combined presence of a human model with a product increases the perceived overall image attractiveness

The more attractive the human model, the more attractive the overall image is perceived

Initial evidence that pupillary responses cannot be used as an objective measure of perceived image attractiveness, but further investigation is necessary

An increase in complexity lengthens duration of fixations, decreases the number of fixations, and dilates the pupil

Conclusions

Conclusions

Designers had more, shorter fixations when viewing simple images compared to non-designers, but when viewing moderately complex images, designers exhibited fewer, longer fixations compared to non-designers

Females rated images without a model more attractive and had fewer fixations compared to males, whereas males rated images with a model more attractive and had fewer fixations compared to females.

Conclusion

Significance

The platform for creating attractive, effective, and successful promotional designs

Conclusion

Future Research

Broaden the population in order to generalize outside of university students

Broaden the array of various product categories

Broaden the array of human models

Investigate possible effects of ethnicity, iris color, or diseases, which may be confounding variables on pupillary responses

Use constant luminance levels across stimuli and faces of models used in stimuli

Vary complexity levels of stimuli

Future Research

Thank you for listening!

Questions?

Physiology of the Human Eye

Three layers of tissues Outermost layer: Cornea and Sclera Middle layer: anterior (iris & ciliary body)

and posterior (choroid) Innermost layer: retina

Three fluid chambers Anterior chamber

between cornea and iris Posterior chamber

between iris and lens Vitreous chamber

between lens and retina

Background

Visual Processing

Light waves enter eye through cornea progresses through pupil focused on fovea photoreceptors in retina retinal ganglion cells optic nerve optic chiasm LGN primary visual cortex occipital cortex

Background

Model Attractiveness and Facial Luminance

Results

Model attractiveness is significantly positively associated with model facial luminance

Image Attractiveness

Results

Image attractiveness mean rating of 4.69

Model Attractiveness

Results

Model attractiveness mean rating of 5.36

Number of Fixations

Results

Number of Fixations mean of 3.51

Number of Fixations

Results

Number of Fixations mean of 3.51

Education

People and products sxsw