Tactile and visual perception of plastic textures for car interiors: Psychophysical and affective dimensions

Surface textures play an important role in the perception of consumer products. In car interiors, they are a major contributor to the perceived quality of a vehicle. However, limited attention has been paid to the affective responses elicited by touch and observation of a textured surface. Here we report an investigation in which Kansei Engineering was used to explore the perception of texturized plastic surfaces, both in its psychophysical and affective dimensions, as well as the influence of the textures’ physical parameters. In a controlled study, 21 subjects were asked to touch 18 samples of two types of plastics, commonly used in car interiors, Polypropylene (PP) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), under tactile (only touch) and visual-tactile (touch and vision) conditions. Participants were asked to rate the samples according to 8 descriptors of psychophysical and affective nature. Results show a relation between perceived roughness and the positive/negative valence of the affective response. Importantly, this relation is moderated by the visual appearance of the textures, when these are visible. Both psychophysical and affective dimensions were modelled through height parameters of the texture elements and a variable describing the type of material. The present findings are relevant for the understanding of visual-tactile perception of textures and have implications in the design of textured components for automotive car interiors.