Feeling With the Mind’s Eye: Examining the relationship between visual mental imagery and haptic feedback

Abstract

The process of mental imagery and the ability to vividly imagine interaction with visual information is of paramount importance to Kansei design studies. While user-friendly interfaces and visually-appealing elements are frequently given precedence when considering design, individual differences in finding something visually intriguing— namely, to what degree the viewer/user can fully immerse themselves in imagining interaction with the visual media—remain largely unaddressed. This study hopes to provide greater insight into human interaction with visual media by first providing evidence for the varying degrees of individuals’ media immersion through the modality of haptic feedback.