A common assumption in the psychology of aesthetics is that there exists an inverted U‐shape relationship between complexity and liking due to two countervailing effects of increasing complexity, namely a negative effect of cognitive effort and a positive effect of arousal or interest. In the context of product design, several studies with over 1800 participants in total showed that aesthetic complexity does influence consumer appraisals, but there was scant evidence for an inverted U‐shape relationship. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, arousal or interest and perceived producer effort or skill were found to be more important mediators than cognitive effort. When accounting for the influence of mediators and covariates, aesthetic complexity appeared negatively related to product liking and positively related to perceived originality. Brand status was also found to moderate the relationship between complexity and liking. These findings call for further research and a more nuanced perspective on the role of complexity.

中文翻译：

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重温Berlyne在复杂性和喜好之间的倒U型关系：努力，唤醒和地位在欣赏产品设计美学中的作用

美学心理学中的一个普遍假设是，复杂性和喜好之间存在倒U型关系，这归因于复杂性增加的两种抵消作用，即认知努力的消极作用和唤醒或兴趣的积极作用。在产品设计的背景下，总共有1800多名参与者的几项研究表明，审美的复杂性确实会影响消费者的评价，但很少有证据表明存在倒U型关系。关于潜在的机制，发现唤醒或兴趣以及生产者的努力或技能被认为比认知努力更重要。当考虑中介因素和协变量的影响时，美学复杂性似乎与产品喜好负相关，而与感知的原创性正相关。还发现品牌状态可缓和复杂性与喜好之间的关系。这些发现要求对复杂性的作用进行进一步的研究并获得更细致入微的观点。