I can't believe this isn't wood! An investigation in the perception of naturalness

What the study found

Perceived naturalness of wood and imitations such as vinyl and veneer was measured consistently across four psychophysical methods, suggesting a single underlying construct on a categorical continuum. Vision and touch were both strong, highly correlated predictors of naturalness judged with both senses.

Limitations

Material samples in a laboratory; sample not extracted.

Neurodesign interpretation

Measures naturalness directly. It does not support claims that touch reliably exposes imitations that sight accepts.

Possible design implications

Hypothesis: imitation surfaces judged natural by eye may also be judged natural by touch, and the reverse.

Study design

Ratings of wood and imitations (vinyl, veneer) by vision only, touch only and vision plus touch, using four measurement methods

Population

Adult participants. Sample: not extracted.

Setting

Laboratory

Field

Materials + haptics

Mechanism

Multisensory congruence

Spatial variable

Wood exposure, Material texture

Keywords

naturalness, wood, imitation, veneer, vinyl, touch, vision

Notes and follow-up

Related records: ND-0162, ND-0164.