Most advanced, yet acceptable: Typicality and novelty as joint predictors of aesthetic preference in industrial design
Hekkert, Snelders and van Wieringen note that typicality and novelty are each linked to preference for human-made artefacts, yet a typical product is rarely novel. Across three studies of consumer products the two were about equally effective as joint predictors of preference, and each suppressed the other's effect: their direct correlations with preference were not significant but became significant when the other variable was controlled. Observers' expertise did not change the relative contribution of novelty, and a central-tendency measure of typicality gave the same pattern. People preferred novel designs as long as novelty did not reduce typicality, and the most preferred products combined both. Journal of record: British Journal of Psychology 94(1), 111-124, 2003.
Hekkert, Snelders and van Wieringen note that typicality and novelty are each linked to preference for human-made artefacts, yet a typical product is rarely novel. Across three studies of consumer products the two were about equally effective as joint predictors of preference, and each suppressed the other's effect: their direct correlations with preference were not significant but became significant when the other variable was controlled. Observers' expertise did not change the relative contribution of novelty, and a central-tendency measure of typicality gave the same pattern. People preferred novel designs as long as novelty did not reduce typicality, and the most preferred products combined both. Journal of record: British Journal of Psychology 94(1), 111-124, 2003.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex record, 2026-11-03; citation details from Crossref, 2026-11-03.
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Hekkert, P., Snelders, D., & van Wieringen, P. C. W. (2003). Most advanced, yet acceptable: Typicality and novelty as joint predictors of aesthetic preference in industrial design. British Journal of Psychology, 94(1), 111-124. doi:10.1348/000712603762842147 https://doi.org/10.1348/000712603762842147