The product effect: do the characteristics of products transfer to their owner?

The research in this paper tested the product effect, a method that investigates how consumers perceive a person’s appearance and character traits based on the symbolic values of the products they own. The method was based on the room effect, a method used in environmental psychology to study how the context of different rooms affects an observer’s perception of an occupant’s personality. Adapting the method to study how the symbolic values of products affect perceptions of personality, this study showed photographs of a male and female model with two differently designed bottled water packages. The photographs and a set of semantic differential scale questions about the model’s personality were shown in a paper-based pilot questionnaire and two online questionnaires administered through the Swinburne University website. The economic, social and environmental factors that affect the perception of bottled water were also examined in a literature review. Particular attention was paid to the unparalleled importance of packaging in differentiating the product inside the bottle, H2O, and its equally important role of communicating symbolic values that people use to create and portray their self-identity. The suitability of the product effect method in studying how products affect observers perceptions of personality was examined through a review of the methods and theories that construct it and the fields in which the product effect is intended to be implemented. Studying the product effect will provide new insight into the links between consumer behaviour and the design of products, contributing new research to the field of design and market research. Finally, this study addresses the limited empirical exploration of the symbolic values of bottled water and other designed packaging and products.