Object and user levels of analyses in design: the impact of emotion on implicit and explicit preference for 'green' products

Understanding users' perceptions is a key element in design. However, perceptions are typically assessed at the object level of analysis. In this paper, we distinguish between perceptions at the object level and the user level (study 1), and illustrate implications for product evaluations (study 2). We examine evaluations of 'green' products. In study 1, we surveyed 41 design students. At the object level, expressing a 'natural' look was associated with 'safety' for male and female respondents. However, at the user level, women differed from men and did not associate 'natural' with 'safety'. Study 2 demonstrates how this gender difference is reflected in men's and women's product evaluations in the context of benign or threatening nature images. In an experiment with 112 participants, we found that women, but not men, reduced their implicit preference for natural products in the threat condition. The paper shows the importance of differentiating between the object and user levels of analysis when analysing consumers' perceptions to predict product preferences and evaluations.