Introduction

In social psychological research addressing the effects of affective states on judgemental processes, substantial evidence has been garnered that suggests that affective states (see, e.g., Clore et al. 1994; Martin and Clore 2001; Schwarz 1990; Sinclair 1988; Sinclair and Mark 1992, 1995) and affective cues (see, e.g., Soldat et al. 1997; Soldat and Sinclair, in press) engender differential processing strategies. That is, positive states and cues (e.g. happiness) lead to superficial, less detail-oriented, and more heuristic processing, whereas negative states and cues (e.g., sadness) lead to more detail-oriented/systematic processing. Sinclair (1987) suggested that findings such as these could have particular importance in the area of product design where affective responses to design issues have not been addressed. For the purposes of the present discussion, the terms “design” and “products” are broadly defined. For example, they could include design and product issues ranging from traditional ergonomics to advertising, political campaigns, work space/office design, presentation of people, procedures, to production lines. We believe that affective states (e.g. moods, emotions) and affective cues (i.e. cues that suggest positive or negative valence, but that do not affect the perceiver’s mood) caused by, or conveyed by, designs can affect people’s performance and perceptions. What sorts of research supports our contentions? We address this issue below.