Exploring the Emotional Differences Between Over-Ear Headphones Made of Different Materials

Abstract

As technology advances and the use of devices such as cell phones and tablets increases, related wearable devices are becoming increasingly popular, with wireless Bluetooth headsets being the most prominent in recent years. Earphones and Headphones Market size exceeded USD 85 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of over 11% from 2022 to 2028. The global industry shipments are expected to reach 1 billion units by 2028. It is clear that the market demand for wireless Bluetooth headphones will grow significantly, and it is the responsibility and duty of product designers to define the target consumer groups and the color scheme of the products when developing wireless Bluetooth headphones. This research aims to understand the effect of the use of different materials on user’s emotional. The Semantic Differential Technique (SDT) method was used to classify the change of emotional imagery of the subjects by using 11 pairs of adjectives from the Ma2E4 emotion scale to evaluate three different materials of headphones (metal, plastic and wood). The result shows that the metal material gave people the emotional impression of “professional”, “unnatural” and “manufactured”. Plastic gives people the emotional impression of “calm”, “cozy”, “elegant”, “sober” and “manufactured”. Wooden materials give people the emotional impression of “strange”, “natural”, and “nostalgic”. In addition, the same material of headphones could bring up completely opposite emotions because of the different colors.