Feeling and feelings: Affective and perceptual dimensions of touched materials and their connection

Participants explored a representative set of 47 solid, fluid and granular materials and rated them according to a list of 32 perceptual and 20 affective attributes. In a principal component analysis (PCA) of the perceptual ratings, we extracted six dimensions: Fluidity, Roughness, Deformability, Fibrousness, Heaviness, and Granularity explained 88% variance. A PCA on affective ratings revealed the dimensions: Valence, Arousal, and Dominance, explaining 92% variance. Greater Valence was significantly associated with reduced Roughness, greater Arousal with more Fluidity and greater Dominance with decreasing Deformability and decreasing Heaviness. Overall, the present study demonstrates that the range of affective responses to touched material is broader than previously assumed, and that these affective responses are systematically associated with certain perceptual dimensions.