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Comforted by carpet: How do floors and distance affect purchases?
November 18, 2009Consumers who stand on carpeted flooring feel comforted, but they judge products close to them to be less comforting, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
In the study, authors Joan Meyers Levy (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis), Rui (Juliet) Zhu, and Lan Jiang (both University of British Columbia) explored the feelings evoked by the two most common flooring types in retail environments: hard vinyl tile and carpet.
"We first conducted a study to show that carpeting flooring indeed evokes a greater sense of physical comfort than tiled flooring," the authors explain. "Based on this finding, we addressed a more practical and intriguing question: would these bodily sensations elicited by the flooring transfer to people's assessments of products that they observe while shopping?"
The researchers had participants stand on either soft pile carpet or hard tile and view objects that were either close or moderately far away. (When products were extremely far away, individuals' product judgments were no longer influenced by their bodily sensations.) People who examined items while standing on a plush carpet judged products that were close as being less comforting than products that were moderately far away. "The bodily sensations elicited by the flooring are more likely to be used as a comparison standard, not an interpretive frame," the authors explain.
In contrast, when items were placed moderately far away, their bodily sensations unconsciously guided their product interpretations. Thus, participants perceived those products as comforting when they stood on carpet.
In a final study, consumers could more easily make out the contents of a gift basket from a moderate distance than from a close one. "Interestingly, the results reversed in this case. When viewed from a moderate distance, the gift basket was judged as more comforting when individuals stood on the hard tile floor rather than the carpeted floor. These results further supported our premise that it is the viewing clarity that ultimately determines the direction of the influence of flooring-induced bodily sensations," the authors conclude.
University of Chicago Press Journals
The researchers had participants stand on either soft pile carpet or hard tile and view objects that were either close or moderately far away. (When products were extremely far away, individuals' product judgments were no longer influenced by their bodily sensations.) People who examined items while standing on a plush carpet judged products that were close as being less comforting than products that were moderately far away. "The bodily sensations elicited by the flooring are more likely to be used as a comparison standard, not an interpretive frame," the authors explain.
In contrast, when items were placed moderately far away, their bodily sensations unconsciously guided their product interpretations. Thus, participants perceived those products as comforting when they stood on carpet.
In a final study, consumers could more easily make out the contents of a gift basket from a moderate distance than from a close one. "Interestingly, the results reversed in this case. When viewed from a moderate distance, the gift basket was judged as more comforting when individuals stood on the hard tile floor rather than the carpeted floor. These results further supported our premise that it is the viewing clarity that ultimately determines the direction of the influence of flooring-induced bodily sensations," the authors conclude.
University of Chicago Press Journals
Flooring Current Events and Flooring News RSSChemicals in common consumer products may play a role in pre-term births
A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country's alarming rise in premature births.
Rat study suggests why teens get hooked on cocaine more easily than adults
New drug research suggests that teens may get addicted and relapse more easily than adults because developing brains are more powerfully motivated by drug-related cues.
Household cleaners effectively remove lead-laden dust
All-purpose detergents remove lead-contaminated dust from household surfaces just as effectively as high phosphate detergents and lead-specific cleaning products.
Revolutionising panel production
Following on from the success of EUREKA project E! 2534 THERMOPOLE, which developed thermoplastic lampposts that save lives by bending on impact, EUREKA project E! 2535 FACTORY PANELFORM has adapted the thermoplastic technology to produce sandwich section panels for a market worth over EUR20 million a year.
Automated system delivers packages and profits
EUREKA project E! 2007 FACTORY PACK 2000 developed much more than a new packaging process for large items such as furniture and stone flooring. The system includes an advanced vision system, uses only one recyclable packaging material, offers additional environmental benefits by using less material and producing less waste - and is set to generate a 30% increase in turnover for the Italian lead partner, Aetna.
Microwaving trees speeds up coffee table production
A new process for drying wood could revolutionise the timber industry and lead to cheaper timber for customers.
New Medical Research Shows Safer Flooring Could Cut Hip Fracture Risks by Over 25%
Elderly people living in residential homes are at significantly lower risk of hip fracture if they fall on carpeted wooden floors than onto any other type of flooring, says new research from the University of Warwick in a recently published report. Changing floor coverings could have a real impact on the number of hip fractures suffered by the elderly. The study from Warwick's Centre for Primary Healthcare Studies and the University of Edinburgh, published in May's edition of the journal Age and Ageing, reveals results of a two-year study. The research suggests that if uncarpeted concrete flooring was replaced with carpeted wooden surfaces throughout all residential homes the risk of elder
In-situ preservation of archaeological artefacts
Preserving archaeological discoveries requires as much care as unearthing them. The army of terracotta soldiers uncovered at Xi'an, China, is a wonder to behold but shows the dangers of poor conservation arrangements. After several years of public display and exposure to air, the terracotta is drying out and the figures are crumbling. The curators cannot reverse the deterioration and many now regret the original excavations. Leaving discoveries in situ now appears more and more attractive to archaeologists. But this approach brings its own problems. Isolated sites may not benefit from the specialised buildings and on-site expertise that museums have and each case is different. Milan Kovac,
Plastic flooring reduces static electricity
Flooring that reduces static electricity and suits the decoration of production and product development facilities: such a product has been developed by the Finnish company Upofloor Oy with the aid of funding from the National Technology Agency Tekes and with especially the needs of the electronics industry in mind. The components used in the electronics industry become more and more sensitive and sophisticated all the time. At the same time, they become more sensitive to static electricity. Low air humidity in winter poses a further problem in northern conditions, since charging and discharging increase in winter. Upofloor has developed a product that functions despite air humidity, i.e. it
Using magnets to coax secrets out of fossils
Scientists continue to coax more secrets out of thunderstones and other fossils. But in order to look inside, they often have to slice their precious specimens. Magnetic resonance imaging is a non-destructive means of obtaining startling high-resolution images. "By Thor, what`s that?!" Our ancestors must have taken fright when they came across one of the strange, long, tapered objects they called thunderstones. They believed them to be thunderbolts hurled in anger by Thor, the Norse god of thunder, or his Greek counterpart Zeus. Modern paleontology obviously knows better: Despite their sometimes impressive length of up to five meters, the belemnites were probably quite harmless when alive. T
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