1. How can perceptions be studied experimentally?

The experimental study of perceptions involves analyzing the relationship between what a user "feels" when interacting with the product (perceptual measurement) and certain intrinsic characteristics of the product (objective measurement), linked to its design attributes (color, shape, surface finish...). Studying "experimentally" means using "subjects" to measure perceptions, and different products to constitute "stimuli". The discipline behind this approach is psychophysics (see "Note" box in Step 2).

The principle of an experimental perception study is shown in Figure 1.