精于心,简于形:实用品外观设计的复杂度对消费者偏好的影响

Sense and Simplicity The Effect of Complexity of Utilitarian Product Appearance Designs on Consumer Preference for Products

本文聚焦实用品的外观设计,探究外观设计的复杂度对消费者产品偏好的影响及心理机制。通过6个实验,本文证实外观设计的复杂度负向影响消费者对实用品的产品偏好。其背后的心理机制是消费者对企业在产品不同属性之间的资源配置持有朴素的零和思维。对实用品而言,随着外观设计复杂度的提升,消费者推断企业减少了在产品关键属性上的投入,从而导致他们对产品质量的感知和产品偏好下降。这一效应在消费者对企业的资源配置持有非零和思维或者在企业的规模较大因此资源更为丰富的情况下有所减弱。本文拓展了产品设计的相关文献,并为企业如何通过产品外观设计提升实用品的市场表现提供了重要的实践指导。

Product appearance is one of the key atributes that determines a product's market success.Previous studies have mainly focused on the dimension of aesthetics and found its positive efct on product evaluation.This efect occurs parially because a more aesthetically pleasing design indicates more efforts the firm has devoted to the product,which is appreciated by consumers and thus increases their product evaluations.Our research extends this line of work by examining the dimension of complexity in utilitarian product appearance design.We propose that although a more complex design also indicates more efforts,it may decrease product evaluation by inducing consumer inferences that the firm has devoted more to product appearance and thus less to the product's key attributes.These inferences reduce the perceived quality of the product and conse-quently product preference.We tested our hypotheses with six studies.Study 1 comprised two experiments testing the main efct of design complexity on product preference.In both studies,a single factor(product design:.simple vs.complex)between-subjects design was used,and participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions.Participants were shown an image of a simple or a complex design product and asked to indicate their preferences for the product.In addition,the participants were asked to rate the quality of the product.In line with our expectations,the complex-designed product re-ceived a lower preference rating than the simple-designed product.Moreover,the main effect was mediated by participants'perceptions of product quality,such that when they viewed the complex-designed(vs.simple-designed)product,they inferred the product's quality to be inferior,and there-by lowering their prefcrences for the product.Study 2 adopted the same experimental design as study 1,and used USB flash drives as stimulus for gencralizability.After participants reported their pref-crences for the complex-designed versus the simple-designed product,we also measured their perceptions of product quality and their inferences about the firm's effort in the product's key atibutes.The results replicated the finding of study 1,such that participants preferred the complex-de-signed USB flash drive less than the simple-dssigned one.In addition,we found that this ffect was sequentially mediated by inferences about the firm's efforts(mediator 1)and perceptions of prod-uct quality(mediator 2).Study 3 used two separate experiments to test the moderating role of consumer mindset(i.c.,zero-sum mindset)in the proposed ffect.Specifcally,study 3A adopted a2(product design:simple vs.complex)×2(mindset:zero-sum v.nn-zero-sum)between-sub-jects design,and participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditins.We first pres-ented participants with a USB flash drive that had either a simple or complex appearance design.Then,based on prior research,we manipulated participants"mindsets by tlling them that a fim's resources allocated to product appearance design and key atributes were non-competitive(i.e.,non-zero-sum condition)or competitive(i.e.,zero-sum condition).After that,participants evaluated the quality of the USB drive.The results indicated a significant iterction between appear-ance design and consumer mindset on product quality perception.As predicted,participants primed to hold a zer0-sum mindset perceived the complex-designed USB as lower in product quality than those with a simple complex appearance design.However,this ffect diminished when participants were primed to hold a non-zero-sum mindset.In study 3B,we manipulated consumer mindset as a between-subjects factor and asked participants to make a choice between a simple-and a complexdesigned product,followed by a measure of their inferences about the fim's resource allocation.The results supported the moderating efect of consumer mindset,so that participants holding a stronger zero-sum belief inferned that the firm had alcated fewer resources to key atributes of the product with a complex design and thus preferred the product less.Study 4 tested the moderating role of firm size.This study used a single factor(firm size:small Vs.large)between-subjects design.We manipulated firm size by informing participants that the product was made by a small or a large company.Then participants were presented with a complex-designed and a simpl-designed product,and asked to indicate their preferences.We found a significant impact of firm size such that the higher preference for the simple-designed over the complex-designed product decreased with the firm size.This work contributes to the research streams on product design,zero-sum mindset,and cue utiliza-tion theory.In addition,our findings provide actionable suggestions for companies on when to a dopt simple appearance designs to promote their products.