Why Do We Like What We Like?

Introduction

• Key Question: Why do we like what we like?
• Historical theories on beauty and popularity:
  • Ancient Greeks: Golden Ratio (1.62:1)
  • Enlightenment Thinkers: Consti of Aesthetics
• Modern perspective: Google, Facebook, advertisers
• Central element in advertisements: Novelty
  • Historical finding: Most common word in ads is "new"
  • Society's obsession with new things

Psychology of Novelty and Familiarity

• Mere-Exposure Effect: Familiarity leads to liking
  • Examples: Music, movies, personal faces (mirror vs. photographs)
• Evolutionary Theory: Familiarity as a survival mechanism
  • Hunter-gatherer preference for familiar plants/animals

Challenge for Creatives

• Dilemma: People prefer new things that are similar to old things
• Key Question: How to balance familiarity and surprise?

Case Study: Raymond Loewy

• Background: French orphan, influential 20th century designer
• Major designs: 1953 Studebaker, Pennsylvania Railroad GG1, Greyhound bus, Coca-Cola fountain, etc.
• MAYA Principle: Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable
  • Balancing love of new (neophilia) and fear of new (neophobia)
  • Designing hits at the intersection of familiar and surprising

Applications of MAYA Principle

Technology: Spotify Discover Weekly

• Initial bug let familiar songs slip through
• Result: Higher engagement with a mix of familiar and new songs

Academia: Formulating Hit Papers

• Harvard and Northwestern study on NIH paper acceptance
• Finding: Optimal papers are "optimally familiar"

Cultural and Naming Trends

• Changes in fashion and names follow predictable cycles
• Example: Baby names with the "La" prefix in African-American communities

Politics

• Moral Foundations Theory
  • Importance of leveraging familiar ethical principles to persuade others
  • Example: Liberal framing of arguments in terms of conservative values (patriotism)

Final Story: Loewy and NASA

• Loewy's last assignment: design interior habitat for NASA's first space orbital
• Major contribution: Viewing portal (window to space)
• Illustration of MAYA: Window combines unfamiliar (space) with familiar (home)

Conclusion and Q&A

• Application of MAYA to diverse backgrounds and multicultural understanding
• Emphasis on early integration and diversity in neighborhoods as a foundation for broad-mindedness and inclusivity