design research

Seeing Deserts, Implications (02-24-22)

Yin, Bratman, Browning, Spengler, and Olvera-Alvarez evaluated how seeing desert scenes through windows influences stress levels.  They report that they studied “the effect of a virtual reality (VR) exposure to a desert vs. green environment among . . . residents of El Paso, Texas. The procedure consisted of an acute stressor followed by random assignment to a 10 min VR experience (desert, green space, or office [control condition]). . . . exposure to a desert environment in VR promoted stress recovery just as much as a green environment. . . .

Conspicuous, Inconspicuous Consumption (02-23-22)

Yin and Huang studied factors that might encourage conspicuous consumption.  They report that “People’s schedules are jointly determined by their biological clock and social clock. However, their social clock often deviates from the biological clock (e.g., having to get up earlier than one’s natural wake-up time for work or study, having to stay up to work night shifts or meet a project deadline)—a phenomenon known as ‘social jetlag.’ How does social jetlag impact consumer behavior?

Speed Effects (02-22-22)

How does the speed at which we feel we’re moving (in a car or train, for example) influence decisions made?  Shani-Feinstein, Kyung, and Goldenberg share that “With recent technological innovations, people increasingly experience speed during decision making. They can be physically on the move with their devices or virtually immersed in speed simulated through their devices. Through seven experiments, we provide evidence for a speed-abstraction effect, where the perception of moving faster (vs. slower) leads people to rely on more abstract (vs.

Designing Outdoor Healthcare Areas (02-21-22)

Cui and teammates probed how the design of outdoor spaces at hospitals can influence staff stress levels.  They found that “several [previously conducted] studies have revealed that even short-term exposure to outdoor space has a decompression effect. . . . [in the study conducted by the Cui lead group] EEG measurement equipment was utilized to obtain the value of β wave (vβw) that represents the stress and anxiety of staff in three different outdoor spaces: open, traffic, and rest. . . . The proportion of natural elements, such as landscape . . . and waterscape . . .

Better, Best Illustrations (02-17-22)

Lin investigated how illustrations are evaluated.  Findings from the completed study include: “Although the aesthetic experience of popular illustrations is frequent in modern life, no scientific research can fully explain its psychological structure so far. This study aims to develop an aesthetic model of perception, affection, and cognition, presenting an aesthetic psychological framework for contemporary popular illustration. Thirty representative illustrations were selected as experimental stimuli from design media. . . .

De-Stressing Frontline Healthcare Workers (02-15-22)

Beverly and colleagues probed the sorts of experiences that can reduce stress in frontline healthcare workers.  They report that they “piloted a three-minute Tranquil Cinematic-VR simulation of a nature scene to lower subjective stress among frontline healthcare workers in COVID-19 treatment units. . . . A convenience sample of frontline healthcare workers, including direct care providers, indirect care providers, and support or administrative services, were recruited from three COVID-19 units located in the United States. . . .

Music Preferences and Personality (02-14-22)

Greenberg and colleagues probed links between personality and preferred music styles and it seems likely that their findings can be applied more generally.  The team report that they “built on theory and research in personality, cultural, and music psychology to map the terrain of preferences for Western music using data from 356,649 people across six continents. . . . the patterns of correlations between personality traits and musical preferences were largely consistent across countries and assessment methods.

Judging Creativity (02-11-22)

Researchers have evaluated what people from different cultures categorize as creative.  Data were gathered from people from Russia and the United Arab Emirates.  Kharkhurin and colleagues found that “The concept of creativity varies by culture. . . . Creative daring . . . appears to be a key feature of creativity in the Western, but not in the Eastern tradition.  . . .

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