The Impact of Analogous and Complementary Harmony on Need for Assimilation - Focusing on the Moderating Role of Extraversion for College Students

The influence of color harmony in product design is significant, as products rarely feature a single color. This study explores the effects of color harmony on consumer attitudes, with a specific focus on analogous harmony and complementary harmony. We examined the influence of personality traits for the effect of color harmony especially focusing on consumers’ extraversion and unveiled the need for assimilation as underlying mechanism. We hypothesized that individuals with higher levels of extraversion would show a stronger preference for products with analogous color harmony compared to those with complementary harmony. This preference was anticipated to arise from the perception that analogous harmony better satisfies their need for assimilation. To test our hypotheses, we conducted two laboratory experiments and analyzed the data using moderated mediation analyses. We measured consumer responses to artwall and handbag products featuring either analogous or complementary color harmony. The results revealed that analogous harmony elicited more positive consumer attitudes among individuals with high extraversion, due to the mediating effect of the need for assimilation. These findings provide empirical evidence of the substantial impact of color harmony on consumer attitudes and underscore the role of extraversion in shaping consumer responses through the need for assimilation.