Aesthetic and functional bra attributes as emotional triggers

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate how bra design can trigger positive emotional experiences among users through aesthetic and functional attributes. To achieve this aim, the relationships between women and their favorite bras were investigated, since the users’ preferred products tend to evoke positive experiences. Emotional experiences while using the chosen bras were accessed through five measures: Arousal (intensity of an emotional response); Valence (degree of pleasantness); Dominance (degree of control experienced by the person facing a stimulus); how attractive the chosen bra is; and agreement levels with sentences stating that each design attribute from a list (aesthetic and functional) was determinant for the choice of a certain bra as favorite. The research instrument was a printed questionnaire, which was answered by 182 women. The results indicate that pleasantness (Valence) was related to relaxation (low Arousal), but the feeling of being in control (Dominance), when wearing the chosen bra, was not connected to pleasantness. Attractiveness of the bra, relaxation and pleasantness were related to both aesthetic and functional attributes. The feeling of being in control when using the chosen bra was mostly related to functional attributes. Results are discussed to foster bra design with potential to evoke positive experiences among users.