The impact of prototypicality on aesthetic evaluation: towards a better understanding of affective components of interface designs

People’s behaviour and attitudes are believed to be influenced by an affective system that is more responsive to pictures than to words. In HCI, visual aesthetics influence perceptions of web site usefulness and actual usage. The literature suggests that first impressions can be made with exposure times too brief to allow cognitive appraisals. Long-term positive first impressions may minimize negative experiences encountered later as well as override appraisals of web page content. This raises the question if longer viewing times will increase the appeal of recognizable stimuli. The current paper describes the results of an experiment designed to determine if aesthetic appeal is positively related to prototypicality based on a set of stimuli consisting of images representing basic-level categories. One aim of our ongoing research is to create guidelines for web site designers intended to cater to a universal audience. Three aims are pursued in this program: (1) the identification of prototypical images that hold maximum appeal (2) replication of findings of a previous study examining the prototypicality/appeal relationship and, (3) determination of how the appeal of these images may change with longer exposure times. Preliminary findings will be presented