Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Matthew Bennett
Consumer Behavior
T.K. Clarke
May 5, 2009
2. Shape
Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson suggest four key dimensions of shape that
Schmitt and Simonson propose are size, angularity, proportion, and symmetry and
according to them “tinkering with these dimensions can have a dramatic impact on
what shapes mean will also be used throughout, and while these meanings of shape are
often talked about in visual design textbooks and websites there is no official citation and
no tests have been done on the subject as far as we could find. Another source of insight
into shape and meaning is the study conducted by Ricardo Pires Gonçalves about the
influence of shape and color on consumer perception with regard to the label (2008).
2.1- Angularity
Angularity refers to forms that have angles on them, like squares, rectangles,
triangles, etc. According to Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson, “Angularity is associated
with conflict, dynamism, and masculinity…” (1997). They also point out the similarity
between angular and straight shapes, saying “Straight shapes are often perceived as
masculine, sharp, abrupt and choppy” (1997). In our study of how consumers choose
bottles based on the bottle’s shape, we assume most men will chose the angular, straight
2
shaped bottle and preferred “rugged” as their most important quality. This agrees with the
idea that straight, angular shapes are more masculine. They also convey a message of
therefore hypothesize that younger groups in our study may prefer bottle C. Bottle C has
very sharp angled lines around its base and on its cap. It is a very young bottle that is
power, balance, and reliability. Bottle A in our study is a rectangular shape with linear
characteristics. Ideally this would be the one that most of the men would choose. It is
more of a masculine bottle than the rest because it embodies a message of strength,
stability, and power that are more masculine qualities. (Madden et al. 2000).
courage, brutality, dominance, and menacing. These would, like the squares, rectangles
and pyramids, pertain to bottle A. Bottle A is the most masculine bottle according to the
above definitions of shapes. It should also be the one that is described by most men as
rugged and bold. Bottle C is very linear looking as well, but it encompasses curvy aspects
Hypothesis 1A: Males will prefer the larger, more angular looking bottles A and C.
Hypotheses 1B: Males will prefer the qualities of “rugged” and “bold.”
The opposite of angular shapes are circular shapes. According to Schmitt and
to that they say “curved shapes are perceived as feminine, soft, and continuous.” In our
3
study we will assume that most women will prefer the bottles that are rounder and more
curvaceous. The majority of them, we assume, will choose their most important quality in
friendship, care, support, protection, affection, and compassion. Bottle B in our study is a
round, circular shape and bottle D is very curvaceous. This suggests that most women
will choose bottles B or D as their favorite bottles due to the amount of femininity
weakness, peacefulness, composed, silent, still, and non-menacing. None of our bottles
encompass horizontal lines. However, if one of our bottles did, I imagine the elderly due
Soft curves are most associated with femininity, but they also convey rhythm,
movement, happiness, pleasure, and generosity. In our study, bottles B and D have soft
curves. Bottle D also conveys a sense of movement while bottle B conveys a feeling of
pleasure with its very round shape. These are two of the bottles that we assume will be
“Personalities are often read into particular shapes. This is readily apparent when we
focus on size” (1997). This means people are generally ego-expressive when it comes to
the size of the products they buy. “Large shapes, tall or wide, are often perceived as
powerful and strong while small shapes, short or thin, appear delicate and weak” (Schmitt
and Simonson, 1997). This will help us to understand why some participants in our
survey will chose “rugged,” and “bold” as their most important qualities in a bottle, while
4
others may chose “simple” or “dainty.” The ones who chose the “rugged” and “bold” will
tend to be more masculine, while those who chose “simple” and “dainty” will tend to be
more feminine.
Hypothesis 2A: Women will prefer the smaller looking, rounder and more
Hypothesis 2B: Women will prefer the qualities of “attractive” and “dainty.”
2.3- Demographics
As of the year 2000, the total population of Rohnert Park was 42,236 as recorded
by the U.S. Census Bureau, with an ethnic makeup of 80.28% white; 1.97% African
American; 0.78% Native American; 5.58% Asian; 0.42% Pacific Islander; 5.72% from
other races; and 5.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were
13.57% of the population. It was also reported that the population was 25.3% under the
age of 18; 14.8% from 18 to 24; 32.0% from 25 to 44; 19.8% from 45 to 64; and 8.1% 65
years of age or older. 50.8% of the population is female, while 49.2% are males.
Therefore, we hypothesize that during our study we will encounter mostly white men and
(Insert Graph)
5
Work Cited:
http://www.design-skills.org/the_psychology_of_forms.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=V8oVl4xPq4gC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=a
esthetics+of+shapes&source=bl&ots=aE0F0-Ouce&sig=Tq-XmzLUgcA-
CAL9R_TdF1U-IRQ&hl=en&ei=zf4FSozmMZu8swPmi-
DbAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#PPA92,M1