Facilitating Product Bonding: An Exercise in Art Appreciation Patricia M. West Joel Huber Kyeong Sam Min April 4, 2001

Agent Task: Educator: Helping you learn what you like Clerk: Screening available alternatives Advisor: Providing recommendations & evaluations Trusted Friend: Making your experience pleasurable and instilling confidence

Agents need to do more than help you choose... They should help you like what you have chosen.

Extracting Utility Product Features, Personal linkages Social Exchange Conversation with others Status Badge Value

Four exercises that may increase art appreciation Evaluation--What do you like/dislike? Dialog--Dialog about painting Personal narrative--Story with you in it Social projection--Who would like this?

Three Criteria to Evaluate Exercises Preference shifts--short and long term Choice over time--after experiencing art Attitude toward the exercises

A Study of Which Exercise Best Promotes Bonding Research Questions: Do exercises lead to differences in the degree to which subjects immediately appreciate a work of art? Which exercise(s) best enable people to discriminate and thus make better choices? Stated Objective: To develop exercises that will assist you in selecting artwork “that will be cherished for a lifetime”

Study 1 Overview Day 1 Provide initial preference rank for eight artworks Engage in the four art appreciation exercises each with two artworks Re-rank the artwork Choose the best, and experience it for a week Assess attitude toward the exercises (interest, informativeness, usefulness)

Preview

Initial Ranking Task

Exercise 1: Evaluation Take a few minutes to look at the image on the left and write down your thoughts about what you like and dislike about this painting

Exercise 1: Evaluation “I like the colors and the various shapes but I do not like the overall picture very well because it is too busy and it doesn't make sense. It kind of looks like a house on the top of a mountain and a man on a horse on the other mountain.”

Exercise 2: Personal Narrative Take a few minutes to look at the picture and consider what aspects of it relate to your own life. Construct a short story with yourself in the picture

Exercise 2: Personal Narrative “I see the cow in myself. It is like I am desperately trying to achieve in life, but must first pass many obstacles, such as receiving my B.A, then my M.B.A, then climbing the corporate ladder. It is like I have to climb several mountains before I am satisfied. As the cow is enjoying its adventure, so am I enjoying my every stepping stone.”

Exercise 3: Dialog Imagine viewing this artwork with a friend. Take a few minutes to describe your impressions of the picture by writing a short dialog between you and your friend

Exercise 3: Dialog “[Me]: What do you think of this one? [Friend]: This one is neat it looks like people are laying around a stream or maybe at a picnic. [Me]: I like how everything is a different color and how some of the pictures look white and appear to be the background until you look closer. [Friend]: This is one of my favorites.”

Exercise 4: Social Projection What type of person would like this picture? If you knew someone who chose this artwork, what would you think of that person?

Exercise 4: Social Projection “This is for a woman who loves cats. She would be a quiet woman who likes having cats in her house, despite the fur they leave everywhere. I would think that this person is shy and loves animals and that they probably had a cat that looks similar.”

Preference Rank 2 & Choice 1

Study 1 Overview Day 8 Provide preference rank once again Attitude toward the exercises Choose final work to take home

Which Exercise Works Best? Evaluation-- What do you like/dislike? Personal narrative-- Story with you in it Dialog-- Dialog about painting Social projection-- Who would like this?

Personal Narrative Evaluation Social Projection Dialog Initial Preference Rank by Exercise (Study 1) (n=104)

Change in Preference Rank by Exercise (Study 1) Source: Dependent Variable: Pref 2Pref 3 Personal Narrative 3.44** 2.03* Evaluation Social Projection Dialog -1.99* -3.38** Pref 1 (Initial Rank) 34.43** 27.21** Choice 1 R-squared (n=104) ** 0.61 (* p<.05, ** p<.01)

Personal Narrative Evaluation Social Projection Dialog Change in Preference Rank by Exercise (Study 1) (n=104)

Choice Probability by Exercise (Study 1) Source: Dependent Variable: Choice 1 (Day 1)Choice 2 (Day 8) Personal Narrative * Evaluation Social Projection Pref 1 (Initial Rank)122.55**103.73** (* p<.05, ** p<.01)

Personal Evaluation Narrative Social Dialog Projection Choice Probability by Exercise (Study 1) (n=104)

Results: Attitudes towards the exercises

Is This Affect Toward the Exercise or Bonding? Attitude partially mediates the effect of exercise on preference rank Source: Dependent Variable:Rank Day 1 Personal Narrative 3.44** 3.21** Evaluation Social Projection Dialog-1.99*-2.32* Pref 1 (Initial Rank)34.43** 34.39** Attitude Toward Exercise

Is This Affect Toward the Exercise or Bonding? Source: Dependent Variable:Day 8 (Pref 3) Personal Narrative 2.03*1.87 Evaluation Social Projection Dialog -3.38**-2.67** Pref 1 (Initial Rank) 27.21**27.18** Choice 1 Attitude Toward Exercise 11.64** ** 0.92 (* p<.05, ** p<.01)

Study 1 Findings Writing a personal narrative increased the attractiveness of an object Recollections & Fantasies Personal Connections & Affect Constructing a dialog reduced the attractiveness of an object Difficult task Not representative of behavior

Study 1 Findings Problems with choice People didn’t always select their #1 ranked picture. Why?  Wanted to share the picture with someone else  Afraid of what others would think  Wouldn’t fit with their decor

Study 2 Overview Similar Procedure Focus on Narrative & Dialog Exercises Varied the role of “Self” Task Cueing on Day 8  What exercise did you do?  Elaborate on what you wrote

Initial Preference Rank by Exercise (Study 2) Dialog Dialog with Self with Others Narrative Narrative with Self with Other (n=245)

Change in Preference Rank by Exercise (Study 2) Source: Pref 2 Pref 3 Narrative Self 5.82** 3.45** Narrative Other Dialog Self Dialog Other -2.97** -5.40** Pref 1 (Initial Rank) 44.49** 32.95** Choice 1 R-squared (n=245) ** 0.54 Dependent Variable: (* p<.05, ** p<.01)

Change in Preference Rank by Exercise (Study 2) Dialog Dialog with Self with Others Narrative Narrative with Self with Other

Choice Probability by Exercise (Study 2) Source: Dependent Variable: Choice 1 (Day 1)Choice 2 (Day 8) Narrative Self 6.85**0.65 Narrative Other Dialog Self Pref 1 (Initial Rank)205.97**141.94** (** p<.01)

Dialog Dialog with Self with Others Narrative Narrative with Self with Other Choice Probability by Exercise (Study 2)

Study 2 Findings Writing a personal narrative increases the attractiveness and likelihood of selecting an object Personal linkages are important Constructing a dialog decreases the attractiveness and likelihood of selecting an object The role of self did not matter Artificial task

Study 2 Findings Differences in Choice Social Projection task appear to cue people to consider what others would think

General Conclusions: Long term preference and choice change depending on the choice experience Best choice experience for art is writing a personal narrative, worst is scripting a dialog. General Result: Importance of personal connections, affective associations, and a fun bonding exercise

Next Step: How is it different if you are the author of a narrative versus the reader? Separate tasks that discriminate vs. those that bond Evaluation discriminates Narratives bond