Factors affecting emotional responses in mobile phone design evaluation

Emotion is elicited by products upon closer inspection before purchase. The pre-purchase situation is very important because it is at this stage that consumers make a decision to buy a product. This study identified the relationship between mobile phone attributes and pre-purchase emotion. The moderating effect of selected purchase criteria to the relationship between attributes and emotion was also be investigated. Forty two participants voluntarily took part in this field survey. Results of the study suggested that phone attributes related to dimension and form can predict pre-purchase emotion. The size of the navigation button was found to be a significant predictor of all pre-purchase emotion except excitement. Larger navigation buttons elicited greater intensities of positive emotion. Other phone attributes were also found to be significant predictors of some emotions. Design preference moderated the relationship between the size of the navigation button and feelings of encouragement to buy.