A computational model simulating the mental function of multicolor aesthetic evaluation

Abstract

In this research, a computational model that simulates the mental function of multicolor aesthetic evaluation through backpropagation neural networks was constructed. Helmut Leder's psychological model served as the theoretical framework. We determined the macro‐architecture of the computational model through two psychological experiments using the semantic differential (SD) method. The aesthetic score of a multicolor stimulus is defined as the inverse of its factor score on the factor “Pleasure” extracted in the first experiment, and each of the three factors extracted in the second experiment—i.e., “Stability,” “Heaviness,” and “Presence”—is regarded as a simple perceptual feature. The genetic algorithm was then employed to optimize the hidden layer node number, the learning rate, and the momentum constant of each neural network. In two simulation tests, this computational model exhibited some predictive power, implying that the model can be regarded as a relatively successful approximation of the psychological mechanism of multicolor aesthetic evaluation. In addition, the results of the second simulation also show that the perceptual feature “Heaviness” possesses the principal impact on the aesthetic evaluation of multicolor objects, whereas the other two perceptual features “Stability” and “Presence” have a minor influence. The heavier and/or more stable a multicolor object is perceived to be, the less aesthetically pleasing it is. Conversely, the stronger the sense of matter presence a multicolor object elicits, the more aesthetically appealing it is. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 216–235, 2017

Research on color optimization of tricolor product considering color harmony and users' emotion

“…RBF neural networks have been used to construct emotional evaluation models based on these two perspectives, respectively. In comparison with Fang's study, this study comes to a conclusion that information processing of color emotional evaluation should go through from color information directly to affective evaluation. Different from research on material tactile, it is difficult to divide color images into different cognitive levels, so the hierarchical relationships between the five perceptual features in this article cannot be accurately determined, resulting in the inaccuracy of the structure of the emotional evaluation model I.…”

“…Different from research on material tactile, it is difficult to divide color images into different cognitive levels, so the hierarchical relationships between the five perceptual features in this article cannot be accurately determined, resulting in the inaccuracy of the structure of the emotional evaluation model I. Apart from Fang's studies, there are few studies in the field of color design paying close attention to the hierarchical structure of perceptual features of emotional evaluation based on the human cognitive process, which causes the insufficiency of theoretical support to the first perspective of information processing as well as the inaccuracy of the emotional evaluation model I.…”

“…For instance, emotional evaluation words related to tactile sense of materials were divided into psychological layer (lower level), affective layer (middle level), and preference layer (upper level) . And in visual aesthetic field, color image words were divided into the stages of perceptual analysis and affective evaluation based on Helmut Leder's psychological model . So it is necessary to study the rationality of these two perspectives of information processing of users' emotional evaluation in product color design.…”

“…36 And in visual aesthetic field, color image words were divided into the stages of perceptual analysis and affective evaluation based on Helmut Leder's psychological model. 37 So it is necessary to study the rationality of these two perspectives of information processing of users' emotional evaluation in product color design.…”

Insight into color aesthetics from probabilistic perception modeling

“…In this work, we are concerned with the application of color for aesthetics. There are a number of experimental studies on human preference for individual colors, for color pairs, multicolor patterns, combinations of shapes and colors, as well as combinations of object purposes and colors . Also, well‐accepted color design rules exist that have been applied by painters and other artists throughout art history and irrespective of cultural context.…”