Signal detection-based satisfaction measure of the holistic product usage experience with and without the ‘double-faced applicability’ test

In the fast moving consumer goods industry, measuring consumer acceptance toward products is crucial for product development and marketing. Consumers are generally considered hedonists and, thus momentary hedonic scores are assumed to represent consumer acceptance. Yet for many product types, such as household care products, consumers might be considered utilitarian and their usage experience with the product might be equally important for consumer acceptance. To quantify consumer holistic product usage experience, a two-step signal detection rating-based satisfaction measure was used such that an independent signal detection theory index termed d’_A (d-prime affect magnitude) could be computed for each product to represent consumer satisfaction with the usage experience and with the product itself. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of simultaneous attribute evaluation using the ‘double-faced applicability’ (DFA) test on product discrimination of this satisfaction measure. The conventional 10-point hedonic ratings with and without the DFA test were used as control methods for comparison. Results showed that significant product discriminations were observed only in the group who performed the satisfaction measure with the DFA test. Also, significant discriminations in quality attributes of the DFA test questionnaire were more frequently observed in the group that performed the satisfaction test than in those who performed the hedonic test. These results indicate that compared to using hedonic scores, the satisfaction test with the DFA has the potential to improve research on the quality predictors of household products.