Through a participatory study conducted during the European Researcher Night, this study aims to identify characteristics of teddy bears that influence their comforting power, including visual, olfactory and kinesthetic properties. We also tested the effect of ownership on comforting power.
Our study revealed that the emotional bond shared with a teddy bear is a predominant factor. However, we identified characteristics that play a significant role in the perception of comfort, which lies in a combination of visual, olfactory, and especially kinesthetic characteristics.
Through these results, our study identifies the determinants spontaneously taken into account in the attribution of teddy bears' capacity to provide comfort. These results were independent of participants age, reminis- cent of the teddy bear's ability to provide comfort at all stages of life
