Spatial frequencies in aesthetic website evaluations – explaining how ultra-rapid evaluations are formed [Räumliche Frequenzen in ästhetischen Website-Bewertungen - eine Erklärung, wie ultraschnelle Bewertungen zustande kommen]

Thielsch, Meinald.T.; Hirschfeld, Gerrit

Abstract

This study investigates how aesthetic website evaluations, especially those formed after very brief presentations, depend on visual information that is encoded in low- or high-spatial frequencies. A total of 92 participants took part in the experiment. The study used a 3 × 3 mixed design in which presentation time (50, 500 and 10000 ms) and spatial filtering (low-pass filtered, high-pass filtered and unfiltered stimuli) were manipulated. First, we replicate prior results from online studies of high- and low-spatial frequencies. Second, we confirm a prediction from neurocognitive models that only low-spatial frequencies are relevant to aesthetic judgements in ultra-rapid presentation modes. Third, we demonstrate that stimulus repetitions lead to an overestimation of the importance of ultra-rapid stimulus presentations. Taken together, our results highlight the utility of neurocognitive models of visual processing to explain the rapid aesthetic evaluation of websites.

Habilitationen, aus denen die Publikation resultiert