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.
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
Preview
Preview
Preview
Preview
Preview
Preview
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?
Initial Preference Rank by Exercise
(Study 1)
8
Preference Rank Order
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Personal
Narrative
Evaluation
Social
Projection
Dialog
(n=104)
Change in Preference Rank by Exercise
(Study 1)
Source:
Dependent Variable:
Pref 2
Pref 3
Personal Narrative
3.44**
2.03*
Evaluation
-0.70
0.39
1.39
0.64
Social Projection
Dialog
-1.99*
-3.38**
Pref 1 (Initial Rank)
34.43**
27.21**
Choice 1
R-squared (n=104)
(* p<.05, ** p<.01)
--0.57
11.64**
0.61
Change in Preference Rank by Exercise
(Study 1)
0.4
Difference from Initial
Preference Rank
0.3
0.2
Social
Projection
0.1
Day 1
Dialog
Day 8
0
-0.1
Personal
Narrative
Evaluation
-0.2
-0.3
(n=104)
Choice Probability by Exercise
(Study 1)
Dependent Variable:
Choice 1 (Day 1)
Choice 2 (Day 8)
Personal Narrative
0.01
5.66*
Evaluation
0.64
0.34
Social Projection
0.01
1.01
122.55**
103.73**
Source:
Pref 1 (Initial Rank)
(* p<.05, ** p<.01)
Probability of Selection
Choice Probability by Exercise
(Study 1)
0.32
0.3
0.28
0.26
Day 1
Day 8
0.24
0.22
0.2
Personal
Narrative
Evaluation
Social
Projection
Dialog
(n=104)
Results: Attitudes towards the
exercises
6
5.5
5
4.5
4
3.5
Interest
Personal Narrative
Informativeness
Evaluation
Usefulness
Social Projection
Dialog
Is This Affect Toward the Exercise
or Bonding?
Attitude partially mediates the effect of
exercise on preference rank
Dependent Variable: Rank Day 1
Source:
Personal Narrative
3.44**
3.21**
Evaluation
-0.70
0.57
1.39
1.18
-1.99*
-2.32*
34.43**
34.39**
---
1.49
Social Projection
Dialog
Pref 1 (Initial Rank)
Attitude Toward Exercise
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 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
Difference from Initial Preference Rank
Change in Preference Rank by Exercise
(Study 2)
0.4
0.3
0.2
Dialog
with Self
0.1
-0.2
-0.3
Day 1
Day 8
0
-0.1
Dialog
with Others
Narrative
with Self
Narrative
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
0.85
0.01
Dialog Self
0.23
0.00
205.97**
141.94**
Pref 1 (Initial Rank)
(** p<.01)
Choice Probability by Exercise
(Study 2)
0.38
Probability of Selection
0.36
0.34
0.32
0.3
Day 1
Day 8
0.28
0.26
0.24
0.22
0.2
0.18
Narrative
with Self
Narrative
with Other
Dialog
with Self
Dialog
with Others
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
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