Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics

Consumer psychology has been proven to have an essential influence on aesthetic preferences. Previous research on aesthetics focused on long-lasting product categories and was conducted at a single level. However, aesthetics is multidimensional, which has been overlooked. Our research is based on th...

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Main Authors: Ding, Sinong, Yahaya, Mohd Faiz, Abdul Rahman, Ahmad Rizal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Research 2025
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/1/118389.pdf
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author Ding, Sinong
Yahaya, Mohd Faiz
Abdul Rahman, Ahmad Rizal
author_facet Ding, Sinong
Yahaya, Mohd Faiz
Abdul Rahman, Ahmad Rizal
author_sort Ding, Sinong
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Consumer psychology has been proven to have an essential influence on aesthetic preferences. Previous research on aesthetics focused on long-lasting product categories and was conducted at a single level. However, aesthetics is multidimensional, which has been overlooked. Our research is based on the unified model of aesthetics (UMA), which aims to investigate the unique contributions of the perceptual (unity, variety), cognitive (typicality, novelty), and social (connectedness, autonomy) levels to aesthetic preferences for packaging designs. The studies used soft drink packaging from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category as stimuli, and Chinese participants evaluated the packaging on a 7-point Likert scale. Study 1 shows that people gravitate toward safety over accomplishment and that connectedness, typicality, and unity are the main determinants of aesthetic pleasure. Study 2 added two scenarios: for “going to a very formal meeting,” stimuli with unity, typicality, and connectedness could best induce aesthetic pleasure. For “going to a good friend’s rave party,” the novelty, autonomy, and variety of designs were the most pleasing. Furthermore, two studies showed that for the overall stimulus, unity consistently evoked more positive aesthetic preferences than variety. Overall, this research provides new insights into aesthetic influences at the perceptual, cognitive, and social levels in soft drink packaging and offers new perspectives on aesthetic preferences for new product development.
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spelling upm-1183892025-07-09T03:23:51Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/ Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics Ding, Sinong Yahaya, Mohd Faiz Abdul Rahman, Ahmad Rizal Consumer psychology has been proven to have an essential influence on aesthetic preferences. Previous research on aesthetics focused on long-lasting product categories and was conducted at a single level. However, aesthetics is multidimensional, which has been overlooked. Our research is based on the unified model of aesthetics (UMA), which aims to investigate the unique contributions of the perceptual (unity, variety), cognitive (typicality, novelty), and social (connectedness, autonomy) levels to aesthetic preferences for packaging designs. The studies used soft drink packaging from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category as stimuli, and Chinese participants evaluated the packaging on a 7-point Likert scale. Study 1 shows that people gravitate toward safety over accomplishment and that connectedness, typicality, and unity are the main determinants of aesthetic pleasure. Study 2 added two scenarios: for “going to a very formal meeting,” stimuli with unity, typicality, and connectedness could best induce aesthetic pleasure. For “going to a good friend’s rave party,” the novelty, autonomy, and variety of designs were the most pleasing. Furthermore, two studies showed that for the overall stimulus, unity consistently evoked more positive aesthetic preferences than variety. Overall, this research provides new insights into aesthetic influences at the perceptual, cognitive, and social levels in soft drink packaging and offers new perspectives on aesthetic preferences for new product development. Nature Research 2025-02-08 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_nc_nd_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/1/118389.pdf Ding, Sinong and Yahaya, Mohd Faiz and Abdul Rahman, Ahmad Rizal (2025) Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics. Scientific Reports, 15. art. no. 4782. pp. 1-15. ISSN 2045-2322; eISSN: 2045-2322 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-87741-x?error=cookies_not_supported&code=ce9a98ec-e715-46c1-9b57-2fe956e5569a 10.1038/s41598-025-87741-x
spellingShingle Ding, Sinong
Yahaya, Mohd Faiz
Abdul Rahman, Ahmad Rizal
Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics
title Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics
title_full Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics
title_fullStr Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics
title_full_unstemmed Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics
title_short Examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics
title_sort examining the multidimensional impact on soft drink packaging preferences through the unified model of aesthetics
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118389/1/118389.pdf