DOI: 10.38007/978-1-80053-488-9

Since its pioneering by Fechner, empirical aesthetics has given rise to numerous fundamental theories aimed at understanding aesthetic responses to designed products. Among these, the Unified Model of Aesthetics (UMA) explains aesthetic preference at multiple levels-perceptual, cognitive, and social-whereas the Categorical- Motivation (CM) model interprets differences in aesthetic responses according to product type. Both models argue that aesthetic responses arise from the simultaneous interplay of two evolutionary motivations: safety needs and accomplishment needs. The present study therefore integrates these two theoretical perspectives to examine how the UMA and CM models interact in predicting aesthetic preference for Chinese furniture design, thereby constructing a more comprehensive framework for explaining aesthetics. Specifically, it investigates how unity, variety, typicality, novelty, connectedness, and autonomy influence aesthetic preference for open and closed categories of Chinese furniture. 

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