Abstract
While many modern cultures around the world appreciate ‘cuteness’, few empirical studies have been conducted on the kinds of responses cuteness evokes. This chapter explores the results of two studies to examine people’s perceptions and preferences regarding cute aesthetics. The first study investigated 2D online gambling aesthetics in video games and compared cute versus non-cute imagery of a croupier and a treasure chest. A total of 37 adults participated in this online experiment, which featured open and closed question items. The adult participants (n = 17) who took part in the second study were shown a video of a 3D ambient media device, called Fuji-chan, designed to provide information about the meteorological conditions on, and the volcanic activity of, Mount Fuji in Japan. Participants were then invited to answer questions related to the perceived cuteness, information usefulness and importance of the Fuji-chan device. The findings of both studies show that an aesthetic design that follows the principles of cuteness does not guarantee that the imagery is perceived as such, and that the content of the imagery determines whether people evaluated cuteness at a sensory, aesthetic level or whether they attached a symbolic, situated meaning to it. We call on future work to elaborate a clear operationalisation of what constitutes cuteness, at both linguistic operational and aesthetic levels, and further this preliminary work on how people’s perceptions of and responses to cuteness in interaction depend on the context.
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Medley, S., Zaman, B., Haimes, P. (2020). The Role of Cuteness Aesthetics in Interaction. In: Rousi, R., Leikas, J., Saariluoma, P. (eds) Emotions in Technology Design: From Experience to Ethics. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53483-7_8
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