In one study, consumers were asked to look either up or down when choosing between two printers. One printer was described as “very reliable” (a specific feature) while the other was described as “high quality” (a more general description).

It was found that consumers who looked down were more likely to select the ‘reliable’ printer, while those who looked up were more likely to select the ‘high quality’ printer.

“Consumers pay attention to different aspects of products depending on whether they are looking down or up when choosing between available products,” the report stated.

“People are used to paying detailed attention when looking down because everything that happens close to them could be important or dangerous. However, people are more likely to think about the big picture when looking up because they are used to looking at things from more of a distance (to get the full picture).”

The full report can be accessed here.