A Conceptual Framework for Emotional Response of Product with ACT-R Cognitive Architecture

This article proposes a conceptual framework that describes emotional decision making of a product considering the existing structure of Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R). The main proposition of this framework is to explore how emotions are evoked by a product and how emotional words and purchase intention are activated. The process starts when a customer perceives the design features of a product. After the perception of design features, associated emotions are implicitly determined by the appraisal elements such as the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD). To describe this implicit appraisal process, an appraisal module which generates PAD values of the current emotional states is required to be added to ACT-R. The above two stages are replicated until all design features which a consumer is interested in are evaluated and the average PAD values are turned over to the next stage. Subsequently, the emotional word which has the highest activation value based on similarity with PAD values is retrieved from a declarative memory. Finally, as a comprehensive result of the emotions evoked by all design features, purchase intention is activated in a goal module.