Faces of Product Pleasure: 25 Positive Emotions in Human-Product Interactions

Products can evoke a wide range of emotions, both negative and positive. On the negative side, the complicated interface of a highend music player might evoke irritation or dissatisfaction, while on the positive side, the same complexity might evoke fascination or pride. In terms of behavioural impact, these positive and negative emotions are fundamentally different: Whereas negative emotions stimulate individuals to reject (or withdraw from) the object of their emotion, positive emotions stimulate individuals to accept (or approach) the object (Frijda, Kuipers, & Schure, 1989). In consumer research, effects of positive emotions have been found that are in line with this general tendency: Positive emotions stimulate product purchase intentions (Pham, 1998; Bitner, 1992), repurchase intentions (Westbrook & Oliver, 1991), and product attachment (Mugge, Schoormans, & Schifferstein, 2005). In the field of ergonomics, positive emotions have been demonstrated to have additional beneficial effects during product usage. When using complex technology, positive emotions decrease usage anxiety (Picard, 1997; Helander & Tham, 2003) and contribute to the experience of usage comfort (Vink, 2005) and to general usability (Tractinsky, Shoval-Katz, & Ikar, 2000). In other words, products that evoke positive emotions are bought more often, used more often, and are more pleasurable to use. It is therefore indisputably worthwhile to design products that evoke positive emotions – products that make users feel good. All designed technology, products, services, and systems evoke emotions, and not considering these emotions in the design process is a missed opportunity at best. To this end, design theorists have produced various approaches and frameworks that support designers in conceptualising positive product experiences. Jordan (2000) discussed four sources of product pleasure, Norman (2004) introduced three cognitive levels of pleasurable product experiences, and Desmet (2008) proposed nine sources of product appeal. In my view, a main limitation of these approaches is their focus on generalised pleasure: they do not differentiate experience beyond the basic positive-negative distinction. In reality, products can evoke a diverse palette of distinct (positive) emotions, for example, pride, contentment, admiration, desire, relief, or hope (Desmet, 2002; Desmet & Schifferstein, 2008). Although all positive, these emotions are essentially different – both in terms of the conditions that elicit them and in terms of their effects on human-product interaction. For example, whereas fascination encourages a focused interaction, joy encourages an interaction that is playful (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008), and thus someone who is fascinated by a product will probably interact differently with it than someone who feels joyful in relation to the product. The traditional focus on generalised pleasure in design research does injustice to this differentiated nature. An obstacle to a more nuanced study of user emotions, however, is the ORIGINAL ARTICLE