Product Love?

I'm a bit wary about 'product attachment' research. While I am in agreement with arguments that attention to quality, value, and engagement can increase the length of product usage or encourage repair over new purchase, there is something a bit problematic (creepy?) about designing for emotional bonds between people and objects. First of all, the premise never escapes the understanding of identity as a condition primarily manifested through consumption and possession. Second, it fails to recognize that designing product 'personalities' typically provides only the illusion of self-expression while inherently leveling difference by prescribing various 'lines' of expression.

Instead, why not undertake an investigation of the importance of personal narrative people associate with objects/products (something that is likely to be highly individualized and unpredictable, yet reflect sets of cultural priorities...see for example Janet Hoskins' Biographical Objects: How Things Tell the Story of People's Lives). This might provide insights into how design might better facilitate narrative generation and associated product value, rather than a somewhat oversimplified 'attachment.' It would also be valuable to include a consideration of how services might better facilitate sustainability by enabling social networks and community-building via product usage tied to social practices.

Here's brief summary of one recent product attachment study:
Mugge investigated the topic of product attachment – the strength of the emotional bond a consumer experiences to a specific product (Mugge 2007). This definition implies that a strong relationship or tie exists between the individual on the one hand and the object on the other. If people feel strongly attached to a product, they are also more likely to handle the product with care, to repair it when it breaks down, and to postpone its replacement as long as possible (Mugge, Schifferstein, and Schoormans 2006a). Product attachment may thus increase a product’s lifetime. From the viewpoint of sustainability, it can be valuable for designers to influence the degree of attachment people experience to their products (van Hinte 1997).

More here.