Product choice and anthropomorphic designs : do consumption goals shape innate preferences for human-like forms?

Some product forms such as designs mimicking human shapes are supposed to trigger innate preferences in consumers. In design and marketing literature, there is some evidence supporting such a preference bias toward anthropomorphic forms. However, it is still an open question whether preferences for anthropomorphically designed products can be attenuated by contextual factors. Assuming that consumers are sensitive to the value (e.g. functional or emotional benefits from usage) product design communicates, we postulated that consumers should prefer anthropomorphic designs mainly when future consumption serves emotional, but not functional, goals. In an experiment, where participants were exposed to different kinds of consumption scenarios, we found that participants' preferences for anthropomorphic designs varied with the scenarios. Further, we found tentative evidence for product-related emotional responses, elicited at the moment of purchase. Our results show the limits of biologically determined preferences, and emphasize the impact of anticipating future interactions on present design preferences