Cross-Modal Evidence on Website Interface-Induced Emotions and Search Efficiency in Time-Limited Ticket Purchase

Abstract

Limited-time purchase interfaces increasingly embed temporal scarcity cues (e.g., countdown timers), requiring users to search and act under time pressure. Yet most evaluations rely on outcome-level indicators, leaving limited process-level evidence on how interface-induced emotions shape search efficiency. This study investigates how valence and arousal in web interface design affect goal-directed search in a timed ticket-purchase flow, integrating subjective affect mapping with synchronized eye- and mouse-tracking. In Study 1, forty participants rated 18 standardized above-the-fold webpage screenshots using a grid-based Circumplex Model of Affect (CMA), positioning each stimulus in valence–arousal space. K-means clustering (k = 4) identified four quadrant-aligned emotional profiles, from which one representative webpage per quadrant was selected. In Study 2, these four emotional profiles were implemented as isostructural ticketing prototypes that held information architecture and task demands constant while manipulating emotion-related design tokens. Thirty participants completed within-subject timed purchase task while eye movements and mouse behavior were recorded. Across repeated-measures analyses and cross-modal evidence fusion, arousal emerged as the most reliable driver of efficiency: higher-arousal interfaces accelerated progression and strengthened gaze-to-action coupling, yielding faster and more stable interaction rhythms. Valence mainly affected local processing fluency but did not consistently reduce total completion time. These findings provide process-level evidence for emotion-aware, efficiency-oriented design in time-pressured purchase interfaces.

Keywords: Interface-induced Emotions, Valence–arousal, Time-pressured Interaction, Visual Search Efficiency, Eye Tracking, Mouse Tracking

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1008045