Shape congruence in product design: Impacts on automatically activated attitudes

Abstract

Scientific studies have strongly emphasized the importance of automatic (unconscious) processes underlying consumers’ behavior. However, research is missing on automatically activated attitudes resulting from product design. This study aimed at examining such attitudes by relying primarily on evaluative priming methods (i.e., affective priming task, and lexical decision task combined with a semantic priming procedure). In line with a processing fluency framework, it provides evidence that shape-congruent (vs. shape-incongruent) product designs may be associated with a more positive affective response and a greater activation of trust-related perceptions. Important implications are involved for retailing and professionals in charge of product management.