Revisiting Berlyne's inverted U‐shape relationship between complexity and liking: The role of effort, arousal, and status in the appreciation of product design aesthetics
研究检验了产品设计美学中复杂度与喜好之间的倒U形关系，发现唤醒、兴趣和感知生产者努力比认知努力更重要，且品牌地位调节了复杂度与喜好的关系。
Abstract A common assumption in the psychology of aesthetics is that there exists an inverted U‐shape relationship between complexity and liking due to two countervailing effects of increasing complexity, namely a negative effect of cognitive effort and a positive effect of arousal or interest. In the context of product design, several studies with over 1800 participants in total showed that aesthetic complexity does influence consumer appraisals, but there was scant evidence for an inverted U‐shape relationship. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, arousal or interest and perceived producer effort or skill were found to be more important mediators than cognitive effort. When accounting for the influence of mediators and covariates, aesthetic complexity appeared negatively related to product liking and positively related to perceived originality. Brand status was also found to moderate the relationship between complexity and liking. These findings call for further research and a more nuanced perspective on the role of complexity.