A Model for Haptic Aesthetic Processing and Its Implications for Design

Research in aesthetics typically focuses on static stimuli or stimulus properties from the visual domain leaving unanswered a great many questions on haptic aesthetics. This paper aims to give a short impression of the relevance of aesthetics for design and everyday-life decisions, then focuses on phenomena concerning haptic aesthetics in particular, for instance, top-down processes and mere exposure effects. Based on empirical findings and theoretical considerations with regard to haptic research, the paper develops a functional model of haptic aesthetics, which is explained step by step. This model assumes a continuous increase of elaborative processing through three subsequent processing stages beginning with low-level perceptual analyses that encompass an initial, unspecific exploration of the haptic material. After a subsequent, more elaborate, and specific perceptual assessment of global haptic aspects, the described process enters into deeper cognitive and emotional evaluations involving individual knowledge on the now specified haptic material. The paper closes with an applied view on design issues to explicate the importance of integrating haptic aesthetics into corresponding approaches.