2018 Volume 49 Issue 4 Pages 764-771
Automobile interior is one of the most crucial factors for evaluating products’ value. During the evaluation, tactile cue must play an important role in deducing product’s quality, however, the regionality of customer’s tactile perception is in most cases neglected in previous studies. This study conducted sensory evaluation tests of door armrests in three countries, Japan, USA and Denmark, which are representatives of East Asia, North America and Europe, respectively. Eight samples of door armrests and 29 words expressing tactile sensations were used in the test. 167 participants in total participated in the evaluation test, 53 from Japan, 64 from USA and 50 from Denmark. As results of factor analysis, cluster analysis and multiple regression analysis, the following conclusion can be derived, i.e., although there is no significant difference in preference perception of door armrests, the tactile perception structures are different among three countries.
