Linking font legibility and liking = 폰트의 판독성과 선호도의 연결

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 세리프 길이와 획 대비가 판독성과 선호도에 미치는 영향을 두 자극 크기 조건 하에서 검토하고, 두 측정치 간의 관계를 분석하였다. 세리프 길이（sans, middle, long）와 획 대비（low, medium, high）를 독립적으로 조작한 3 × 3 요인 설계를 사용하였으며, 자극은 임계 인쇄 크기 근방（0.3°）과 이를 상회하는 크기（0.5°）의 두 조건에서 제시되었다. 35명의 참가자가 어휘 판단 과제와 선호도 평정 과제에 참여하였으며, 판독성은 EZ 확산 모델에서 도출된 드리프트율로 측정하였다. 그 결과, 폰트 특성이 판독성에 미치는 효과는 소형 크기 조건에서만 유의하게 출현하였으며, 획 대비의 주효과, 세리프 길이의 주효과, 그리고 두 변수 간 유의한 상호작용이 관찰되었다. 구체적으로, 저대비 조건에서 판독성이 저하되었으며, 세리프의 판독성 기여는 고대비 조건에서만 출현하였다. 반면 선호도에 대한 폰트 특성의 효과는 두 크기 조건 모두에서 유의하게 나타났으나, 소형 크기 조건에서 더 세분화된 패턴이 관찰되었다. 판독성과 선호도 간의 상관은 소형 크기 조건에서만 유의하게 출현하였으며, 대형 크기 조건에서는 유의하지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 판독성과 선호도의 수렴이 처리 효율이 제약될 때에만 나타나는 조건부 현상임을 시사하며, 자극 크기가 폰트 특성 효과의 출현 여부를 결정하는 상위 조절 변수로 기능함을 보여준다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The present study examined the effects of serif length and stroke contrast on legibility and liking across two stimulus size conditions, and investigated the relationship between the two measures. Using a 3 × 3 factorial design in which serif length （sans, middle, long） and stroke contrast （low, medium, high） were independently manipulated, stimuli were presented at a size approximating the critical print size （CPS; 0.3°） and a size exceeding it （0.5°）. Thirty-five participants completed a lexical decision task and a liking rating task, with legibility operationalized as drift rate derived from the EZ diffusion model. Font features exerted significant effects on legibility only in the small-size condition, where significant main effects of both stroke contrast and serif length were observed, along with a significant serif × contrast interaction. Specifically, low stroke contrast was associated with reduced legibility, and the legibility advantage of long serif fonts emerged exclusively under high contrast conditions. Font feature effects on liking were significant across both size conditions, though a more fine-grained pattern was observed in the small size condition. The correlation between legibility and liking was significant only in the small size condition and nonsignificant in the large size condition. These findings suggest that the convergence of legibility and liking is a conditional phenomenon that emerges only when perceptual processing efficiency is constrained, and that stimulus size functions as a higher-order moderating variable determining whether font feature effects on legibility are detectable. The implications for typographic research and the perceptual fluency account of aesthetic preference are discussed.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................... i
• 국문 초록 .................................................................. ......................................................................... ii
• TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................... ........................................................................iii
• LIST OF FIGURES .................................................. ........................................................................ iv
• CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................. ......................................................................... 1
• CHAPTER 2. METHODS ........................................ ......................................................................... 4
• 2.1 Participants .................................................. ......................................................................... 4
• 2.2 Apparatus .................................................... ......................................................................... 4
• 2.3 Stimuli ......................................................... ......................................................................... 4
• 2.4 Font Conditions ........................................... ......................................................................... 5
• 2.5 Procedure .................................................... ......................................................................... 6
• 2.6 Data Analysis .............................................. ......................................................................... 7
• CHAPTER 3. RESULTS .......................................... ......................................................................... 9
• 3.1 Effects of Stimulus Size and Block Order on Legibility and Liking .................................... 9
• 3.2 Effects of Font Features within Each Size Condition ......................................................... 9
• 3.3 Correlation between Legibility and Liking . ....................................................................... 13
• CHAPTER 4. DISCUSSION .................................... ....................................................................... 15
• 4.1 The Role of Stimulus Size and Block Order ....................................................................... 15
• 4.2 Effects of Font Features on Legibility ........ ....................................................................... 17
• 4.3 Effects of Font Features on Liking ............. ....................................................................... 18
• 4.4 Conditional Convergence of Legibility and Liking ............................................................ 20
• 4.5 Limitations and Contributions .................... ....................................................................... 22
• REFERENCES ......................................................... ....................................................................... 25