stuff to read, apparently/april 2010

instant gratification

Arnie was wrong, it’s Judgement Day Split-Second

researchers at Ottawa’s Carleton University have established the human brain makes decisions in a twentieth of a second when viewing a web page for the first time. Which is quite quickly.

A lot more quickly than they thought in fact, their theory was users would take at least 10 times longer to make a judgment about the quality of a website. Nope. They flashed up web pages for 50 milliseconds and asked survey participants to rate them on aesthetic appeal.

Last chance to change your mind.

The participants then were asked to look at the site ‘normally’ and to provide a new rating. The two ratings — the first based on a virtually subliminal glance, the second on a more detailed examination — were completely different.

Er, no, I’m lying, they were pretty much identical. (Cue ‘Twilight Zone’ music…)

Now, this either shows that Canadian web users have incredibly short attention spans (it’s a separate thesis I’m trying to raise funding for) or that a visitor’s first impression of a website has a lasting impact. Especially if it’s a Flying Solo website, obviously.

In any case the boffins maintain their report proves these near instantaneous first impressions endure because of what psychologists apparently call the ‘halo effect’ ie. a person’s initial positive bias toward something affects their subsequent judgment (I’ve demonstrated much the same thing myself with beer).

Yes, you’re quite correct, this is a bloody good website. Well spotted.

So if visitors think that a website looks good, then this positive attitude will influence how they feel about other aspects of the site, such as its content. So apparently, you lot can write any old crap, but so long as I design the site for you (hint) it’ll be fine…

Because human beings like to be right, we’ll continue to use sites which make a good first impression because doing so will further confirm our initial decision was a good one and that we’re jolly bright.

If you suffer from low self-esteem on the other hand, you may be impressed by this, eerily reminiscent of Homer Simpson’s ‘Mister Plow’ venture.

I was just typing thinking…

corporate + brand identity | graphic design | website design | dog walking

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