Buying Beauty for the Long Run: (Mis)predicting Liking of Product Aesthetics

How well can consumers predict future liking of different product designs? The present research identifies a systematic error in consumers’ preferences and predicted liking for product aesthetics. Consumers predict a faster decrease in liking for high- (vs. low-) arousal-potential product designs (i.e., intense colors or intense patterns) over repeat exposure because high-arousal-potential designs are expected to become increasingly irritating....