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Consumer response to car fronts: eliciting biological preparedness with product design

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Abstract

Building on assumptions derived from evolutionary theory, we investigated viewers’ reactions to the design of car fronts (i.e., an automobile’s face), which were designed to be threatening using basic principles of anthropomorphism. Previous research suggests two opposite human reactions when presented with threatening stimuli: Initially, threatening objects attract human attention (e.g., when exploring a scene for the first time), but afterwards, people tend to avoid such threatening stimuli (as they are likely to induce discomfort in the viewer). This proposition is tested within a product design context using eye tracking methodology. Results showed that automotive stimuli not only activate affective dimensions of customers, but also lead to specific automatic reactions that can be explained by evolutionary theory. Practical implications for product design and marketing are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology III, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Christian Purucker

  2. College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    David E. Sprott

  3. Center for Customer Insight, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Andreas Herrmann

Authors
  1. Christian Purucker
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  2. David E. Sprott
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  3. Andreas Herrmann
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Correspondence to Andreas Herrmann.

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Purucker, C., Sprott, D.E. & Herrmann, A. Consumer response to car fronts: eliciting biological preparedness with product design. Rev Manag Sci 8, 523–540 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-013-0116-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-013-0116-2

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