794 The Impact of Self-Construal on Aesthetic Preference for Angular Versus Rounded Shapes Yinlong Zhang University of Texas at San Antonio Lawrence Feick University of Pittsburgh Lydia J. Price China European International Business School In their view, cultural differences will be evident only when germane cultural knowledge is accessible. When cultural knowledge does not come to the fore, cultural differences will not be evident. Our research examines the implications of this view for predicting aesthetic preferences. We present the results of three studies. In the first study, we examine the incidence of rounded versus angular shapes in actual corporate logos across a set of countries. This study uses cultural differences across national borders as a proxy for variation in the accessi- bility of self-construal. In the next two studies, we use two different methods to directly manipulate self- construal and examine aesthetic preference for the shape of a picture frame and a trademark symbol, respectively. We argue that the impact of self-construal on shape pref- erence will be more pronounced when people expect others will evaluate these preferences (because cultur- ally consistent responses will be more accessible in this situation). Thus, in Studies 2 and 3 we also test whether the effect of self-construal is moderated by public versus private consumption. Public consumption refers to situ- ations in which individuals are aware of the fact that a Authors’ Note: We wish to thank Jeff Inman, Ajay Kalra, Vanitha Swaminathan, Bob Wyer, and the reviewers for providing insightful comments on an earlier version of this article as well as Angela Lee and Wendi Gardner for sharing their priming materials with us. Vikas Mittal and the associate editor provided extensive and detailed com- ments that improved the article greatly. Correspondence should be addressed to Yinlong Zhang at yzhang@utsa.edu. PSPB, Vol. 32 No. 6, June 2006 794-805 DOI: 10.1177/0146167206286626 © 2006 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc. In this article, the authors examine the role of self-construal in aesthetic preference for angular versus rounded shapes. Previous research found an independent self-construal is associated with a confrontation approach to conflict resolution, whereas an inter- dependent self-construal is associated with compromise. Further- more, the literature in empirical aesthetics suggests that angular shapes tend to generate confrontational associations, and rounded shapes tend to generate compromise associations. Accordingly, the authors propose individuals with independent self-construals should perceive angular shapes as more attractive, whereas indi- viduals with interdependent self-construals should find rounded shapes more attractive. The authors argue this effect of self- construal should be more pronounced when people expect that their shape preferences will be evaluated by others because cultur- ally consistent responses will be more accessible in this situation. These hypotheses were largely confirmed in a field study that clas- sified logos from a variety of countries and two experiments in which self-construal was experimentally primed. Keywords: self-construal; culture orientation; aesthetics; marketing design preference Do people perceive that certain shapes are more attractive than others? Is this shape preference affected by culture? In this article, we examine whether and under what conditions self-construal—the extent to which an individual perceives himself or herself as being con- nected to or distinct from others—affects preferences for angular versus rounded shapes. In developing our conceptual framework, we draw on the dynamic view of cultural cognition proposed by Hong and her col- leagues (Hong, Morris, Chiu, & Benet-Martinez, 2000). at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 17, 2016 psp.sagepub.com Downloaded from