The main aim of this thesis is to investigate how environmental preference for the built environment, either in-situ or based on visual representations (e.g. visualisations of final architectural design), may be affected by three distinct variables. One of them is emotion, operationalised as the mood people are in at the time of the evaluation and the way people feel with regards to the environment. A second variable considers the participants' attention and how they may be influenced by task instructions. The third variable, intrinsically related to the second one, is how environmental preference may be influenced depending on the perspective taken at the time of the evaluation. The main research questions in this thesis are: a) How does emotion influence environmental preference? b) What is the impact of perspective-taking on environmental preference? c) What are the benefits of using emotional reactions to the environment as predictors of preference? These main research questions are addressed using both quantitative and qualitative methods, mainly quantitative, underpinned by a pragmatic approach. The unit of analysis in this thesis is the person who evaluates or judges an environment or a representation of it. Five studies are presented in this thesis. Study 1 (n=10) reports the results from interviews with practising architects in the city of Aberdeen. These results show that when designing architects take two distinct perspectives: a prescriptive inferential perspective and a self, referential perspective. These interviews are used to set the context within which this thesis operates: the presentation of design to people with no expertise in architecture and built environment disciplines. The remaining four studies directly address this thesis' main research questions. In Study 2 (n=133), Study 3 (n=146) and Study 5 (n=64) the effects of perspective-taking on different dependent variables are experimentally tested. The dependent variables are: perceived restorativeness (Study 2), environmental preference as measured via informational variables (Study 3), and the emotional reactions people have to representations of the environment (Study 5). Results of these studies show that perspective-taking carries an interpersonal perception bias whereby taking a perspective other than the self results in different environmental evaluation outcomes, but that this process can also be affected by formal training. The influences of emotion on environmental preference are directly explored in Studies 4 (n=32) and 5 (n=64). The results show that mood can have an influence on environmental preference by influencing the emotional reactions people have to the environment, but that these influences vary over time. Overall the thesis shows that perspective-taking and emotion have a range of influences on environmental preference in a built environment context, that these are important at the point at which architecture and built environment professionals design environments, and that timing of environmental evaluations in longitudinal assessments can make the difference between positive and less positive evaluations. This thesis' results are discussed in light of existing knowledge and some recommendations are made for future research and practitioners in architecture and built environment disciplines.

Baumeister and Leary (1995) propose with their Need to Belong Theory that negative affect would occur upon the disruption of an existing or even potential social connection. The present paper presents two studies that sought to resolve past contradictory research by examining how rejection by various sources (romantic partners, family members, close friends, or strangers) impact the rejectee’s emotional responses. The first study, which used a recalled memory of rejection, yielded no significant differences in mood, need to belong, threat to the four fundamental needs, or state self-esteem for the different sources. However, the second study, which used imagined scenarios, found that the source of rejection had a significant effect on the rejectee’s levels of hurt feelings, sadness, and perceived level of rejection, indicating that the effects of rejection are influenced by the relationship people have with their rejecters. This has many implications on how we understand relational dynamics and rejection.

Being given the diagnosis of a disability generally affects an individual's emotional state, however, this has not previously been investigated with respect to audiology and the diagnosis of hearing loss. The first aim of this study was to describe some of the common initial reactions to the diagnosis of hearing loss (HL). An awareness of these emotional reactions will aid audiologists in counselling their patients. Counselling occurs at the time of the diagnosis and throughout the aural rehabilitation process. However, counselling tuition is currently not provided for audiology students at New Zealand universities and there are few professional development courses for practicing audiologists. The second aim of this study was to evaluate current audiological counselling services and ascertain the impact on patients' decisions to get hearing aids (HAs). To accomplish these aims, 27 adults who had been newly-diagnosed with a HL completed an initial reaction questionnaire, partook in an interview which followed up on the questionnaire, and subsequently completed a second questionnaire at least three weeks later. There were two versions of the second questionnaire, depending on whether they had chosen to have HA(s) fitted. The results found that the common emotions reported were a sense of loss, sadness and resignation, as well as relief. Furthermore, an individual's level of optimism tended to decrease in response to the hearing test result. The ratings of the audiological counselling services were positive and seemed not to significantly influence the individual with respect to their decision to purchase HAs. The two areas of audiological counselling which could be improved related to how the audiologist explained the HL, particularly in relation to the individual's life, and also the provision of information to patients prior to the fitting of the HA. In addition to the data that was collected in relation to these aims, information was collected with respect to patients' perceptions of their HL prior to the hearing test, their interpretation of the hearing test results, and also how the patient's significant other responded to the diagnosis. The information from this study will be useful for equipping audiologists, both new graduates and those with more experience, to provide optimal audiological care for their patients.

Syftet med studien är att få en ökad förståelse för vilka faktorer som påverkar konsumentens butiksupplevelse. Detta för att få kunskap om hur butiker kan möta kundens behov, genom utformning av butiksutrymmet samt personalens bemötande. Studien ämnar ta reda på vilka faktorer som skapar en positiv respektive negativ respons från konsumenten. Undersökningen genomfördes genom deltagande observationer, där en person åt gången observerades och intervjuades under en shoppingtur. Detta för att ta del av både konsumentens åsikter samt agerande i miljön. Ett ord som var återkommande i samtliga deltagande observationer var struktur, då deltagarna ansåg att butikens struktur var mycket viktig för helhetsintrycket. Det fick inte vara rörigt i butiken. Efter varje butik fick deltagarna säga tre ord de förknippade med butiken som precis hade besökts. De positiva ord som sades flest gånger var ljust och fräscht. Medan det negativa ordet som förekom mest var rörigt. Helhetsintrycket av butiken var det viktigaste för konsumenterna varpå de synliga faktorerna tog störst plats. Personalens uppmärksamhet och interaktion visade även på en betydande roll. / The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that affect how consumers perceive store environments. This is to gain knowledge about how retailers can meet customer needs, through the design of the store space and services. The study intends to determine which factors that create a positive relative to negative response from the consumer. The survey was conducted through participant observation, in order to take part of the consumer's opinions and actions within a store environment. One person at a time was observed and interviewed, during a shopping trip. A word that was repeated in all participant observations was structure. The participants felt that the store's structure was very important to the overall impression. After each shop, participants were told to say three words they associated with the store. The positive words that were said the most times were bright and clean. While the negative word that appeared most times was disarray. The study shows that the overall impression of the store is the most important factor. The visible factors are although those who are noticed the most. Attention from the staff and interaction also revealed a significant role in the consumer’s overall impression.

Being given the diagnosis of a disability generally affects an individual's emotional state, however, this has not previously been investigated with respect to audiology and the diagnosis of hearing loss. The first aim of this study was to describe some of the common initial reactions to the diagnosis of hearing loss (HL). An awareness of these emotional reactions will aid audiologists in counselling their patients. Counselling occurs at the time of the diagnosis and throughout the aural rehabilitation process. However, counselling tuition is currently not provided for audiology students at New Zealand universities and there are few professional development courses for practicing audiologists. The second aim of this study was to evaluate current audiological counselling services and ascertain the impact on patients' decisions to get hearing aids (HAs). To accomplish these aims, 27 adults who had been newly-diagnosed with a HL completed an initial reaction questionnaire, partook in an interview which followed up on the questionnaire, and subsequently completed a second questionnaire at least three weeks later. There were two versions of the second questionnaire, depending on whether they had chosen to have HA(s) fitted. The results found that the common emotions reported were a sense of loss, sadness and resignation, as well as relief. Furthermore, an individual's level of optimism tended to decrease in response to the hearing test result. The ratings of the audiological counselling services were positive and seemed not to significantly influence the individual with respect to their decision to purchase HAs. The two areas of audiological counselling which could be improved related to how the audiologist explained the HL, particularly in relation to the individual's life, and also the provision of information to patients prior to the fitting of the HA. In addition to the data that was collected in relation to these aims, information was collected with respect to patients' perceptions of their HL prior to the hearing test, their interpretation of the hearing test results, and also how the patient's significant other responded to the diagnosis. The information from this study will be useful for equipping audiologists, both new graduates and those with more experience, to provide optimal audiological care for their patients.

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways tuning to A = 432 Hz affects emotional response, timbre, sound quality, character and tone compared to the standard tuning of A = 440 Hz, and whether or not it is humanly possible to discern a difference between these two. This was all done in an effort to evaluate claims that A = 432 Hz is superior to standard tuning in regards the previously mentioned factors. For this to be done, the history and development of tuning standards as well as intonation systems, presented alongside theories on the basic physics of sound, the effect of spectral manipulation on timbre and sound, and finally memory structures for remembering musical pitches. As a musician and composer, exploring new ways of creating emotion and controlling the effects of a composition, and dispelling potential misinformation is always a worthwhile pursuit. The study was performed by way of surveys where respondents were asked to listen to a composition in two versions, one in A = 440 Hz and the other in A = 432 Hz and then rate the perceived similarity between these two. They were then asked to give their answer regarding preference and associations of character and emotional response to each version. Results show that the claims of the A = 432 Hz proponents might not be as simple as portrayed, but rather a more complex series of relationships. There is support for the idea that the two tunings are unique enough for the average human to discern a difference between the two, and that some type of unique character is contained in each tuning.

Consumers are actively avoiding advertising, which has made the advertising landscape more challenging, resulting in the implementation of other strategies. Provocative advertising is a strategy implemented to make a strong impression on the consumers. However, the discussion of consumers becoming more and more resistant towards advertising lifts the question of provocative advertisement as an effective strategy. Digital natives is the part of the population who are the most exposed to information on online platforms, therefore the question of lessening of response to provocative advertisement from the digital natives is investigated. As emotional response previously has been used to understand the effect advertising elicits from consumers, the purpose of this research is to describe the emotional responses digital natives have towards provocative advertising. The empirical material gathered has been among digital natives in Växjö, Sweden, studying their emotional response towards the seven types of provocative advertising provided within the theoretical framework. The focus group consisted of four different gatherings, with six participants in each in order to create an understanding of how digital natives perceive provocative advertising and resulted in an understanding of the effectiveness of it. The results indicate that provocative advertising does evoke emotions. Specifically, the advertisements that include a cause or message evoked more emotions from the digital natives, and therefore is an effective strategy to implement from a practical perspective. The result also allowed for an understanding that digital natives expressed more resistance towards expressing their emotions rather than showing specific resistance towards the provocative advertising itself, which is recommended by this study for further research

Services are becoming increasingly important. Almost two-thirds of the world’s total economic output is accounted for by services. Moreover, the leisure services industry is one of the fastest growing industries around the world. The global growth rate was more than 6% per year in the last five years. The global leisure services industry is expected to be worth $3.4 trillion by 2010, with a growth rate of 6.1% for the 2005-2010 period. Marketers should focus on value-creating processes that involve customers as co-creators of value, because marketers cannot create or deliver customer value alone. Therefore, assessing consumers’ value perceptions can provide informative feedback that marketers can use to adjust their market offerings and meet consumers’ needs and expectations more effectively. This replication study investigated the application and relevance of Petrick’s (2002:119) SERV-PERVAL scale as a measure of consumers’ perceptions of service value in mid-scale restaurants. The SERV-PERVAL scale measures five dimensions of perceived value, namely perceived quality, emotional response, monetary price, behavioural price and reputation. The results should assist marketers to decide how best to influence overall value perceptions and favourable behavioural intentions amongst target markets through understanding how consumers make purchase decisions based on their perceptions of value. First, a conceptual framework of the relationships between perceived value and its antecedents and consequences was synthesised from the leisure marketing literature. Then the study surveyed students at the University of Pretoria and asked them to report their perceptions of a dining experience at a mid-scale restaurant. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the data. Two multiple regression models were tested. The findings provided support for the conceptual framework, as well as evidence for the relevance of utilising the SERV-PERVAL scale to measure the value perceptions of South African restaurant patrons. The significance of the two multiple regression models, analysed in the replicated study, was established. Seven hypotheses were tested. In only two cases, the null hypotheses could not be rejected in favour of the alternative hypotheses. The results of the first multiple regression model indicate that consumers' emotional response is the best predictor of their overall perceptions of value. Thus, mid-scale restaurant managers should enhance the pleasurable attributes of the service experience (e.g., background music; interior decoration and lighting; air-conditioning and scent) in order to enhance the consumer's dining experience. The results of the second multiple regression model indicate that consumers' perceived value is a better predictor of consumers' favourable behavioural intentions than satisfaction. An implication for managers is that they can increase their consumers' perceptions of value by enhancing the pleasurable attributes that consumers' experience, a well as the quality and the monetary price of services as perceived by the consumers. It is also important to maintain the level of the services' behavioural price and reputation perceived by consumers. However, managers need to identify the attributes that add pleasure to their target customers and understand how to employ them effectively. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Marketing Management / MCom / Unrestricted

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L’objectif de cette recherche est d’étudier la réponse affective de l’enfant ainsi que son comportement suite à son exposition à un emballage ludique tel un « toy-packaging ». Nous testons aussi le rôle médiateur des variables sociodémographiques sur ces liens. Ainsi nous avons eu recours à quatre prototypes différents de « toy-packagings » selon la présence ou non des critères anthropomorphique et réutilisable pour un produit qui ne suscite pas l’intérêt des enfants, soit le gel-douche. L’expérimentation a été dupliqué dans deux contextes différents afin d’asseoir l’universalité des résultats, il s’agit d’une première étude opérée en France suivie d’une deuxième opérée en Tunisie. La recherche a montré un impact positif du critère anthropomorphique sur la réponse affective de l’enfant envers la marque dans les deux contextes. A l’encontre l’impact du deuxième critère (la réutilisabilité) n’a pu être validé qu’en Tunisie. L’analyse des différences entre les deux critères du « toy-packaging », révèle la prépondérance du premier confirmant l’importance de s’identifier à un héros/emblème chez les jeunes consommateurs. Ainsi, ici ceux sont les plus petits qui éprouvent plus d’enthousiasme envers des marques emballées dans des « toy-packagings » plutôt que leurs aînés. L’âge subjectif est donc une variable qui explique ces différences inter-segment. / This research aims to study the emotional response of children and their behavior toward playful packaging such as a "toy-packaging". It aims also to test mediating role of socio-demographic variables on these links. Thus we used four different prototypes of "toy-packaging" according to the presence or not of anthropomorphic and reusable criteria for a product that does not arouse the interest of children (shower-gel). The experiment was duplicated in two different contexts in order to establish the universality of results, it is about a first study operated in France followed by a second one operated in Tunisia. Research has shown a positive impact of the anthropomorphic criterion on the child's affective response to the brand in both contexts. Although the impact of the second criterion (reusability) has only been validated in Tunisia. The analysis of the differences between the two criteria of "toy-packaging" reveals the importance to be identified to a hero / emblem among young consumers. Thus, the youngest children (7 and 8 yrs) are more enthusiastic towards brands packaged in "toy packaging" rather than their elders. Subjective age is therefore a variable that explains these inter-segment differences.