AESTHETICS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - Human-Computer Interaction and Management Information Systems: Foundations - page 322

degree of experience with, and exposure to, the system. One especially intriguing question is
whether the impact of aesthetics is confined to voluntary use of IT. I am not familiar with direct
evidence regarding the effect of aesthetics in mandated environments, but research suggests that
such effect exists. For example, in reviewing the literature on the effects of positive affect, Isen (2001)
found that decision makers' performance improves when positive affect is induced in various set-
tings (e.g., medical decision making). In the context of mandated use of IT, Zhang and Li (2004)
demonstrated that affective qualities of an information system influenced users' intentions to use
it, both directly and indirectly. Thus, since aesthetics generates affective responses (Csikszentmihalyi
and Robinson, 1990; Norman, 2004; Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz, 2004), it would not be surprising
to find that IT aesthetics influences decision making even when usage is mandatory.
Individual differences constitute a set of potentially important moderators in the study of aes-
thetics. At one extreme some people crave aesthetics so much that ugliness makes them physically
ill (Maslow, 1954); at the other extreme, some remain relatively indifferent to aesthetic variations.
People differ in terms of their aesthetic preferences. Research findings indicate that education
moderates aesthetic preferences (Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1969; Devlin and Nasar, 1989;
Csikszentmihalyi and Robinson, 1990). Individual differences in aesthetic preferences may also
be a by-product of cultural (e.g., organizational, societal, or national) differences. For example,
Postrel (2002) suggests social affiliation as another major source of aesthetic differences due to
the potential of aesthetic signals to establish group identity. At the same time, there is evidence
for common cross-cultural aesthetic attitudes to humans (e.g., Langlois et al., 2000) or land-
scapes, whether urban or natural (Nasar, 1998). Thus, research can concentrate both on common
preferences of IT aesthetics and on differentiating features.
Illustration
The framework identifies various types of relevant variables, but it is up to the researcher to gen-
erate specific research questions and hypotheses regarding how design elements of the IT artifact
and the usage context affect the dependent variables of interest. To illustrate the type of studies
that can be carried out, consider trust in Web stores. McKnight et al. (2002) found that consumers'
perceptions of a Web site's quality (including design elements) were a very strong predictor of
trusting beliefs in the retailer and of consumers' intentions to buy from the site. Similarly, in a sur-
vey of 2,684 Web users, Fogg et al. (2002) found that users use the design look of a site as the
most prominent cue in evaluating the site's credibility. Unfortunately, neither of these studies
obtained separate measures of visual attractiveness or aesthetics. However, given the prominence
of visual stimuli in human judgment and the demonstrated effects of IT aesthetics on users' per-
ceptions of other system attributes, it would not be an exaggeration to propose that the aesthetics
of a Web site has an effect on the perceived credibility or trustworthiness of the Web store
(Karvonen, 2000). An even more interesting question, perhaps, is what kind of aesthetics—or
which aesthetic dimensions—affects trustworthiness. Following this path, we first need to tease
out the aesthetic elements in IT as indicated previously. Some of these elements may be shared
with other visual media or artifacts, some may be unique to IT, and some may be unique to cer-
tain types of IT (e.g., a Web page vs. a PDA application).
Methodological Issues
Although the study of aesthetics in IT is still in its infancy, a series of methodological issues has
already been raised and others will probably emerge as more studies are conducted. These issues