Industrial Design

The brain may be tuned to evaluate aesthetic
perception through perceptual chunking when we observe
the grace of the dancer. We modelled biomechanical metrics
to explain biological determinants of aesthetic perception
in dance. Eighteen expert (EXP) and intermediate
(INT) dancers performed développé arabesque in three
conditions: (1) slow tempo, (2) slow tempo with relevé,
and (3) fast tempo. To compare biomechanical metrics
of kinematic data, we calculated intra-excursion variability,
principal component analysis (PCA), and dimensionless
jerk for the gesture limb. Observers, all trained dancers,
viewed motion capture stick figures of the trials and
ranked each for aesthetic (1) proficiency and (2) movement
smoothness. Statistical analyses included group by
condition repeated-measures ANOVA for metric data;
Mann–Whitney U rank and Friedman’s rank tests for
nonparametric rank data; Spearman’s rho correlations to
compare aesthetic rankings and metrics; and linear regression
to examine which metric best quantified observers’ aesthetic rankings, p < 0.05. The goodness of fit of the
proposed models was determined using Akaike information
criteria. Aesthetic proficiency and smoothness rankings
of the dance movements revealed differences between
groups and condition, p < 0.0001. EXP dancers were rated
more aesthetically proficient than INT dancers. The slow
and fast conditions were judged more aesthetically proficient
than slow with relevé (p < 0.0001). Of the metrics,
PCA best captured the differences due to group and condition.
PCA also provided the most parsimonious model
to explain aesthetic proficiency and smoothness rankings.
By permitting organization of large data sets into simpler
groupings, PCA may mirror the phenomenon of chunking
in which the brain combines sensory motor elements
into integrated units of behaviour. In this representation,
the chunk of information which is remembered, and to
which the observer reacts, is the elemental mode shape of
the motion rather than physical displacements. This suggests
that reduction in redundant information to a simplistic
dimensionality is related to the experienced observer’s
aesthetic perception.

Automotive seat comfort is becoming one of the major aspects in distinguishing companies from their competitors. We here explored the role of the visual appearance of automotive seats in the perception of initial seat comfort. Unlike discomfort, the concept of comfort is regarded a highly subjective and multi-faceted phenomenon. This paper addressed the possibility of improving the perception of comfort through the mere manipulation of the visual appearance in otherwise identical automotive seats. In addition, the study explored gender differences in sensitivity to the effects of visual appearance and perceived comfort. The results showed that the visual appearance of physically identical seats had a large and statistically significant effect on perceived comfort. Furthermore, the effect of visual appearance on perceived comfort was found to be considerably larger for female participants. The results are discussed in the context of potential underlying mechanisms relating visual appearance to aesthetics, positive affect, perceived ergonomic quality, and product personality. Suggestions for future studies are provided with regards to visual design parameters and their effect on the perception of automotive seat comfort.