Research in perception and appreciation is often focused on snapshots, stills of experience. Static approaches allow for multidimensional assessment, but are unable to catch the crucial dynamics of affective and perceptual processes; for instance, aesthetic phenomena such as the “Aesthetic-Aha” (the increase in liking after the sudden detection of Gestalt), effects of expectation, or Berlyne's idea that “disorientation” with a “promise of success” elicits interest. We conducted empirical studies on indeterminate artistic movies depicting the evolution and metamorphosis of Gestalt and investigated (i) the effects of sudden perceptual insights on liking; that is, “Aesthetic Aha”-effects, (ii) the dynamics of interest before moments of insight, and (iii) the dynamics of complexity before and after moments of insight. Via the so-called Continuous Evaluation Procedure (CEP) enabling analogous evaluation in a continuous way, participants assessed the material on two aesthetic dimensions blockwise either in a gallery or a laboratory. The material's inherent dynamics were described via assessments of liking, interest, determinacy, and surprise along with a computational analysis on the variable complexity. We identified moments of insight as peaks in determinacy and surprise. Statistically significant changes in liking and interest demonstrated that: (i) insights increase liking, (ii) interest already increases 1500 ms before such moments of insight, supporting the idea that it is evoked by an expectation of understanding, and (iii) insights occur during increasing complexity. We propose a preliminary model of dynamics in liking and interest with regard to complexity and perceptual insight and discuss descriptions of participants' experiences of insight. Our results point to the importance of systematic analyses of dynamics in art perception and appreciation.
People often listen to sad music in spite of its seemingly negative qualities. Sad music, and especially sad music with a personal significance, has been shown to evoke a wide span of emotions with both positive and negative qualities. We compared emotional responses to familiar self-selected sad music (SSSM) with both unfamiliar sad and unfamiliar happy music. Alongside self-reports, a commercial, continuous measure of discrete facial expressions was applied, promising an in-depth assessment of both the quality and strength of experienced affective states at any given point in time. Results of the facial analysis showed that SSSM evoked more mixed affective states than unfamiliar sad music. Also, listeners reacted with consistent facial expressions to distinct musical events, e.g. the introduction of a lead voice. SSSM evoked more self-reported feelings of nostalgia, reminiscence, being moved, and chills and tears than unfamiliar sad and happy music. Furthermore, SSSM resulted in more self-reported happiness and a similar trend with happy facial expressions compared to unfamiliar sad music. These results point to the emotional diversity and the strong involvement of positive affective states elicited by SSSM, even when compared with music of similar quality, such as unfamiliar sad music. Automated facial analysis allows us to observe emotions on a more detailed level in terms of time resolution, onset, intensity and concurrence of discrete affective states. This technique is promising for future research, particularly when investigating mixed emotions and the social aspect of emotions in response to music.
Recent studies on conspiracy theories employ standardized questionnaires, thus neglecting their narrative qualities by reducing them to mere statements. Recipients are considered as consumers only. Two empirical studies—a conventional survey (n = 63) and a study using the method of narrative construction (n = 30)—which were recently conducted by the authors of this paper—suggest that the truth about conspiracy theories is more complex. Given a set of statements about a dramatic historic event (in our case 9/11) that includes official testimonies, allegations to a conspiracy and extremely conspiratorial statements, the majority of participants created a narrative of 9/11 they deemed plausible that might be considered a conspiracy theory. The resulting 30 idiosyncratic stories imply that no clear distinction between official story and conspiratorial narrative is possible any more when the common approach of questionnaires is abandoned. Based on these findings, we present a new theoretical and methodological approach which acknowledges conspiracy theories as a means of constructing and communicating a set of personal values. While broadening the view upon such theories, we stay compatible with other approaches that have focused on extreme theory types. In our view, accepting conspiracy theories as a common, regulative and possibly benign phenomenon, we will be better able to understand why some people cling to immunized, racist and off-wall stories—and others do not.
The perception of artworks rarely—if ever—results in the instantiation of a determinate meaning. Instead, when entering an art gallery, we often expect Semantic Instability (SeIns): the experience of perceptual and cognitive habits being challenged. By comparing the experience of an artistic movie in an exhibition with the experience in a laboratory via the Continuous Evaluation Procedure, we found that the movie was less semantically unstable and more pleasing to the eyes of gallery visitors than to those of participants in the laboratory. These findings suggest that a gallery context might induce the expectation of perceptual challenge, thus decreasing the intensity of SeIns and at the same time heightening the appreciation of SeIns. Exhibition visitors might even be on the lookout for challenging experiences.
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