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The Effect Of Preferred Visual Aesthetic On Focused Attention, Use Intention, And Persistence In An Instructional Simulation, Don Grady Robison

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Three experiments were conducted investigating the motivational effects of attractive visual aesthetic on focused attention, future use intentions, and discretionary use of a desktop instructional simulation. Participants included 90 ship-handling students from a Merchant Marine academy in the northeastern United States; 91% of the participants were male, and 9% were female, the mean age for participants was 20.97 years. Employing a pc-based desktop ship-handling training simulation, a "preferred aesthetic" was identified using paired comparisons with a relevant target audience. Two identical simulations were then developed, one incorporating the preferred visual aesthetic and one incorporating a neutral visual aesthetic treatment. Both …