Do “attractive things work better”? An exploration of search tool visualisations

A study was conducted to explore associations that may exist between user perceptions of aesthetics and usability in an attempt to validate Norman’s assertion that “attractive things work better”. Participants were run in a semi between-subjects design study. Judgements for aesthetics and usability were elicited prior to and after each test run with a record kept of performance. Pre-use and post-use measures indicated strong relations between judgements of aesthetics and usability, but an association was not found between aesthetics and performance, leading us to conclude that “attractive things are perceived to work better” though attractive systems may not work any better than unattractive systems. These results resemble past research and partly support the work of Norman proposing that valued aesthetics lead to a positive affective response, which opens the mind to creative thinking altering judgements made but not actual behaviour. The findings stress the importance of aesthetics in HCI and design, as an influential factor on perceptions of usability, which in turn influence higher order decisions

Embodied cognitive ecosophy: the relationship of mind, body, meaning and ecology

The concept of embodied cognition has had a major impact in a number of disciplines. The extent of its consequences on general knowledge and epistemology are still being explored. Embodied cognition in human geography has its own traditions and discourses but these have become somewhat isolated in the discipline itself. This paper argues that findings in other disciplines are of value in reconceptualising embodied cognition in human geography and this is explored by reconsidering the concept of ecosophy. Criticisms of ecosophy as a theory are considered and recent work in embodied cognition is applied to consider how such criticisms might be addressed. An updated conceptualisation is proposed, the embodied cognitive ecosophy, and three characteristics arising from this criticism and synthesis are presented with a view to inform future discussions of ecosophy and emotional geography