Factors for representing in-vehicle roominess

Abstract

Car drivers or passengers tend to perceive the interior space of motor vehicles as a psychological space rather than a physical space. Even though cars have the same or similar volumes of the interior space, car users may perceive different in-vehicle roominess according to the characteristics of the interior space of the cars. In this study, we aim to investigate factors that represent invehicle roominess as psychological dimensions. 7 experts participated in collecting 105 psychological expressions for in-vehicle roominess, and the experiments were conducted with 15 participants and 7 diverse motor vehicles. Through factor analysis and multiple linear regression, we found 10 factors and 3 most influential factors in the in-vehicle roominess: namely, 'space completeness', 'narrowness' and 'dullness'. We anticipate utilizing these factors for designing the interior space of motor vehicles in terms of psychological dimensions. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.