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Design-by-analogy is an important tool for engineers seeking innovative solutions to design problems. A new method for systematically guiding designers in seeking analogies, the WordTree Design-by-Analogy Method, was created based knowledge gained from a series of experiments and prior literature. The WordTree Method linguistically re-represents the design problem and leads the designer to unexpected, novel analogies and analogous domains. A controlled experiment and the applications of the method to a number of engineering projects prove the method's value. Designers implementing the method identify a greater number of analogies. Application of the method to a set of engineering project resulted in unexpected, novel analogies and solutions. A set of experiments to more deeply understand the individual cognitive and the group social process employed during analogical design guides the development of the WordTree Design-by-Analogy Method. A series of three experiments shows the effects of the problem representation and how the analogy is initially learned on a designers' ability to use the analogy to solve a future design problem. The effect of the problem representation depends on how the analogy is initially learned. Learning analogies in more domain-general representations facilitates later retrieval and use. A fourth experiment explored group brainwriting idea generation techniques including 6-3-5, Gallery, C-Sketch and Brainsketching through a 3 X 2 factorial experiment. The first factor controls how teams represent their ideas to each other, words alone, sketches alone or a combination. The second factor determines how teams exchanged ideas, either all the ideas are displayed on the wall or sets of ideas are rotated between team members. The number, quality, novelty and variety of ideas are measured. The greatest quantity of ideas is produced when teams use a combination of words and sketches to represent their ideas and then rotationally exchange them. This corresponds to a hybrid 6-3-5/C-Sketch method.

What does driving a sports car have to do with a first kiss, shopping in New York or purchasing a pair of designer shoes? These comparisons were used in a recent ad campaign for the Alfa Romeo Spider and are prime examples of an experiential analogy. The predominance of experiential analogies in recent advertisements suggests that they are persuasive. Yet understanding what comes to mind when consumers process these comparisons remains to be investigated. By drawing on analogy and consumption experience literatures, an important moderator of analogical persuasiveness is identified, preference for the base experience, and the influence of emotional knowledge transfer on consumer attitudes is explored. Substantial focus has been devoted to understanding how consumers learn and are persuaded by functional analogies. Digital cameras have been compared to computer scanners, personal digital assistants to secretaries and off-line web readers to VCRs. These functional analogies differ substantially from experiential analogies where consumers are encouraged to compare two experiences. Three studies were conducted to investigate what contributes to the persuasive effect of an experiential analogy. Study 1 explored how base preference moderates the effect of emotional knowledge transfer on consumer attitudes. The findings suggest that an analogy is maximally persuasive for those who like the experience that an advertised product is compared to and cognitively associate a high number of emotions with the advertised product. In Study 2, a cognitive load manipulation was used to provide additional support for the effect of emotional knowledge transfer and base preference on consumer attitudes. Study 3 explored another important moderator, emotional soundness, specific to the persuasiveness of an experiential analogy. The findings from Study 3 further replicated the effect of base preference and emotional knowledge transfer on consumer attitudes and demonstrate that there needs to be sufficient underlying similarities in order for one to infer that the comparison experience and the advertised target product would have emotions in common with one another. The role of affect in the processing of an experiential analogy was also investigated.

What does driving a sports car have to do with a first kiss, shopping in New York or purchasing a pair of designer shoes? These comparisons were used in a recent ad campaign for the Alfa Romeo Spider and are prime examples of an experiential analogy. The predominance of experiential analogies in recent advertisements suggests that they are persuasive. Yet understanding what comes to mind when consumers process these comparisons remains to be investigated. By drawing on analogy and consumption experience literatures, an important moderator of analogical persuasiveness is identified, preference for the base experience, and the influence of emotional knowledge transfer on consumer attitudes is explored. Substantial focus has been devoted to understanding how consumers learn and are persuaded by functional analogies. Digital cameras have been compared to computer scanners, personal digital assistants to secretaries and off-line web readers to VCRs. These functional analogies differ substantially from experiential analogies where consumers are encouraged to compare two experiences. Three studies were conducted to investigate what contributes to the persuasive effect of an experiential analogy. Study 1 explored how base preference moderates the effect of emotional knowledge transfer on consumer attitudes. The findings suggest that an analogy is maximally persuasive for those who like the experience that an advertised product is compared to and cognitively associate a high number of emotions with the advertised product. In Study 2, a cognitive load manipulation was used to provide additional support for the effect of emotional knowledge transfer and base preference on consumer attitudes. Study 3 explored another important moderator, emotional soundness, specific to the persuasiveness of an experiential analogy. The findings from Study 3 further replicated the effect of base preference and emotional knowledge transfer on consumer attitudes and demonstrate that there needs to be sufficient underlying similarities in order for one to infer that the comparison experience and the advertised target product would have emotions in common with one another. The role of affect in the processing of an experiential analogy was also investigated.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-59).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 1998. / Includes vita. Bibliography: leaves 74-91.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-108).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-108).