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Stamkou E, Keltner D, Corona R, Aksoy E, Cowen AS. Emotional palette: a computational mapping of aesthetic experiences evoked by visual art. Sci Rep 2024; 14:19932. [PMID: 39198545 PMCID: PMC11358466 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69686-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the evolutionary history and cultural significance of visual art, the structure of aesthetic experiences it evokes has only attracted recent scientific attention. What kinds of experience does visual art evoke? Guided by Semantic Space Theory, we identify the concepts that most precisely describe people's aesthetic experiences using new computational techniques. Participants viewed 1457 artworks sampled from diverse cultural and historical traditions and reported on the emotions they felt and their perceived artwork qualities. Results show that aesthetic experiences are high-dimensional, comprising 25 categories of feeling states. Extending well beyond hedonism and broad evaluative judgments (e.g., pleasant/unpleasant), aesthetic experiences involve emotions of daily social living (e.g., "sad", "joy"), the imagination (e.g., "psychedelic", "mysterious"), profundity (e.g., "disgust", "awe"), and perceptual qualities attributed to the artwork (e.g., "whimsical", "disorienting"). Aesthetic emotions and perceptual qualities jointly predict viewers' liking of the artworks, indicating that we conceptualize aesthetic experiences in terms of the emotions we feel but also the qualities we perceive in the artwork. Aesthetic experiences are often mixed and lie along continuous gradients between categories rather than within discrete clusters. Our collection of artworks is visualized within an interactive map ( https://barradeau.com/2021/emotions-map/ ), revealing the high-dimensional space of aesthetic experiences associated with visual art.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eftychia Stamkou
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1001 NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Dacher Keltner
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Rebecca Corona
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Eda Aksoy
- Google Arts and Culture, 75009, Paris, France
| | - Alan S Cowen
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Hume AI, New York, NY, 10010, USA
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Basu S, Srinivasan N. Disinterested attention and aesthetic experience. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2024; 287:25-44. [PMID: 39097356 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2024.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/05/2024]
Abstract
Research studies have focused on stimulus features as well as internal or contextual factors to understand aesthetic experience. An important question is the nature of processes that are involved in all aesthetic experiences. One possible process is "disinterested attention" that may be necessary for one to have an aesthetic experience. This can be contrasted with a perceiver who attends to an object or event only in a goal-directed or instrumental or practical manner. It has been claimed that "disinterested attention" involves attention being focused on the aesthetic object or event while being distributed across its features or components. Other ideas have focused on better reallocation of attention over time. The potential nature of attention could be linked to aspects of mindfulness. Studies looking at the effects of mindfulness on aesthetic experience have shown it increases the frequency of having aesthetic experience. The nature of attention needed for an aesthetic experience can be thought of as a form of generosity that could be linked to the notions of a gift. Mindful attention to objects or life as a gift, perhaps enables us to see objects and perhaps life itself in non-instrumental terms resulting in an aesthetic experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sweta Basu
- Department of Cognitive Science, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
| | - Narayanan Srinivasan
- Department of Cognitive Science, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India.
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Estrada Gonzalez V, Meletaki V, Walker M, Payano Sosa J, Stamper A, Srikanchana R, King JL, Scott K, Cardillo ER, Rhodes CS, Christensen AP, Darda KM, Workman CI, Chatterjee A. Art therapy masks reflect emotional changes in military personnel with PTSS. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7192. [PMID: 38531999 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57128-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Among disabling post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are irritability, aggressive behavior, distressing memories and general impaired cognition and negative mood. Art therapy interventions, including mask-making, can potentially alleviate these symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that art conveys emotions and predicted that blinded viewers would be able to perceive changes in theoretically derived emotional profiles expressed in art made by military personnel with PTSS from the onset to the end of therapy. Five service members and veterans exhibiting PTSS were enrolled in an 8-session art therapy protocol, during which they artistically transformed papier-mâché masks at the beginning and end of the protocol. We found that blinded viewers without knowledge of the masks' creation stage (onset or end of therapy) read initial masks as conveying more negative emotions (e.g., angry, upset, and challenged) and later masks as conveying more positive emotions (calm and pleasure). Based on the assessments from the blinded evaluators, we infer the emotional transition experienced by the participants was expressed in the masks. In an exploratory arm of the study, we also found that viewers were better able to empathize with the negative emotions experienced by participants with PTSS when asked to explicitly take their perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Estrada Gonzalez
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
| | - V Meletaki
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - M Walker
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA
| | - J Payano Sosa
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA
- National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, USA
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc., Bethesda, USA
| | - A Stamper
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA
- National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, USA
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc., Bethesda, USA
| | - R Srikanchana
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA
| | - J L King
- Department of Art Therapy, George Washington University, Washington, USA
| | - K Scott
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc., Bethesda, USA
| | - E R Cardillo
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | | | - A P Christensen
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
- Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
| | - K M Darda
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
- Advancement and Research in the Sciences and Arts (ARISA) Foundation, Pune, MH, India
| | - C I Workman
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, USA
| | - A Chatterjee
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
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Świątek AH, Szcześniak M, Stempień M, Wojtkowiak K, Chmiel M. The mediating effect of the need for cognition between aesthetic experiences and aesthetic competence in art. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3408. [PMID: 38341470 PMCID: PMC10858861 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53957-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Although the role of aesthetics and aesthetic education in everyday life was discussed as early as the ancient philosophers, the psychological mechanisms shaping the aesthetic quotient have hardly been investigated by empirical studies. The aim of this study was to examine the direct relationship between experience and aesthetic competence, and the mediating role of need for cognition. The study involved 201 Polish adults, aged 18 to 76 (M = 26.40; SD = 11.89), 65% of whom were women. The respondents completed anonymous questionnaires on an online platform. The surveys included a metric, the Aesthetic Competence Scale (ACS), the Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire (AEQ) and the Need for Cognition Scale (NCS). A positive correlation coefficient was obtained between all three variables studied, with need for cognition acting as a mediator in the relationship between experience and aesthetic competence. The findings indicate that individuals reporting intense aesthetic experiences have a higher aesthetic competence if this relationship is mediated by a high need for cognitive effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata H Świątek
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Szcześniak
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
| | - Michał Stempień
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Karolina Wojtkowiak
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Marianna Chmiel
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
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Kenett YN, Cardillo ER, Christensen AP, Chatterjee A. Aesthetic emotions are affected by context: a psychometric network analysis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20985. [PMID: 38017110 PMCID: PMC10684561 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48219-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Aesthetic emotions are defined as emotions arising when a person evaluates a stimulus for its aesthetic appeal. Whether these emotions are unique to aesthetic activities is debated. We address this debate by examining if recollections of different types of engaging activities entail different emotional profiles. A large sample of participants were asked to recall engaging aesthetic (N = 167), non-aesthetic (N = 160), or consumer (N = 172) activities. They rated the extent to which 75 candidate aesthetic emotions were evoked by these activities. We applied a computational psychometric network approach to represent and compare the space of these emotions across the three conditions. At the behavioral level, recalled aesthetic activities were rated as the least vivid but most intense compared to the two other conditions. At the network level, we found several quantitative differences across the three conditions, related to the typology, community (clusters) and core nodes (emotions) of these networks. Our results suggest that aesthetic and non-aesthetic activities evoke emotional spaces differently. Thus, we propose that aesthetic emotions are distributed differently in a multidimensional aesthetic space than for other engaging activities. Our results highlight the context-specificity of aesthetic emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoed N Kenett
- Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 3200003, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Eileen R Cardillo
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Alexander P Christensen
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Anjan Chatterjee
- Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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