| Project Detail |
All Disciplines (2)
Discipline
Science of management
Psychology
Keywords (4)
Touch-Sensitive Interfaces, Preference Modalities, Hedonic Choice, Field Experiments
Lay Summary (German)
Lead
Experimental research to explain the influence of touch-sensitive devices on the decision-making and buying behavior of consumers.
Lay summary
Earlier work in the field of human-machine interaction has shown that the use of touch-sensitive terminals as opposed to classical terminals (eg the use of a tablet vs. classic desktop or laptop computers) is perceived as much less complex with simple navigation tasks (eg within the scope of clearly defined searches on a website). Initial research within the social sciences has also shown that subjects in lab experiments indicate a higher emotional bond to a product when they use a tablet instead of a laptop during product viewing. The specific influence of touch-sensitive devices on the decision-making and, ultimately, the buying behavior of humans is largely unexplored.
The funded research project therefore specifically examines the influence of touch-sensitive devices on the product selection of consumers. Within the scope of the research project, a motivational model of human-machine interaction is developed for the purpose of explaining behavioral differences in human decision-making and purchasing patterns and tested in the framework of large-scale field studies and laboratory experiments. Within the scope of the research project, a model is developed that allows predictions about the conditions and modalities (touch-sensitive vs. no touch-sensitive terminal, modality with many or few hand gestures, etc.) can be influenced.
The findings of this research project have important implications for the effective design of marketing practices with new technologies and devices, as well as for the validity of existing theories of human decision-making behavior in the context of new modalities of human-machine interaction.
Direct link to Lay Summary Last update: 26.04.2017
Responsible applicant and co-applicants
Name Institute
Hildebrand Christian Department of Economics University of Geneva
Employees
Name Institute
Hilden Thomas
Project partner
Natural persons
Name Institute
Levav Jonathan Stanford Graduate School of Business Stanford University
Abstract
This research project explores the idea whether the input-modalities of modern computing devices change the psychological process, preference, and actual choices of the person using it. Do changes in the input-modality of a computing interface—i.e. using a more indirect input-modality via a computer mouse or trackpad versus a direct input-modality via a multi-touch device—systematically affect how consumers experience their daily shopping activities, the products they choose in response, and their ultimate shopping expenses? This research project is designed to explore and answer these questions in a series of field studies and laboratory experiments. The prevalence of such mobile touch devices has changed dramatically in recent years with the number of mobile-only users exceeding the number of desktop-only users by 2015 (ComScore 2015), the time spent on mobile devices for media consumption increasing from 45min per day in 2011 up to 3 hours per day in 2015 (while non-mobile devices decreased from 2.5 hours to about 2 hours; EMarketer 2015), and the share of all e-commerce transactions on mobile touch devices growing three times faster in 2015 than US e-commerce overall (Internetretailer 2015), accounting for 29% of all e-commerce transactions in the US and over 50% in other countries (e.g., Japan) (Criterion 2015). Despite this dramatic growth, we see that “research has not kept pace with the rapid expansion of device types” (p. 6) and that a significant portion of prior work was concerned with factors that either affect mobile technology adoption (Sarker and Wells 2003; Shankar et al. 2010), the role of demographics in device adoption and use (Hur, Kim, and Kim 2014; Riquelme and Rios 2010), or the effective design of physical aspects (e.g., screen size) of multi-touch devices to maximize ease-of-use or the presentation of content on mobile multi-touch devices (i.e., responsive design layout) (Gardner 2011; Raptis et al. 2013). The current research program takes a different route and examines the question whether and how changes in computing input-modalities (i.e., direct versus indirect touch; multi-touch with or without gestures) affect the psychological process and experience of individuals and examines the downstream consequences of these changes on the product features consumers choose in response and how these experiences will ultimately affect their price sensitivity and actual expenses. Thus, the major objective of this research is (1) to enhance the understanding of the differential effects of computing input modalities on the psychological process and preference of consumers toward specifically valenced options (e.g., more hedonic versus utilitarian features), and (2) to provide substantive insight into the motivational processes that ultimately drive the previously highlighted changes in individuals’—and on a broader scale societal—consumption behaviors. To unravel the process by which multi-touch devices (and particularly ones with a greater range of hand-gestures) affect consumers’ preferences, actual choices, and their sensitivity toward specifically valenced options, we will conduct a series of experimental studies in both field and laboratory settings. The grant applicant has already conducted a series of studies using a large-scale field setting and a follow-up experiment, which revealed that multi-touch devices profoundly change consumers’ price sensitivity and preference toward higher-priced options due to a greater perceived psychological closeness with the object (i.e. product feature or product). These promising initial findings will be extended and more rigorously tested in the proposed research plan of this grant proposal (see sections 2.2 and 2.3 for details). The findings of this research will have substantial theoretical implications for future work at the intersection of marketing, the psychology of consumers in technology-enhanced environments, human-computer interaction and will provide insight into the psychology of consumers in a ‘digitized’ society (see related section under 2.5 for details). |
