Human Habitat Preferences: A Generative Territory for Evolutionary Aesthetics Research

Ruso, Bernhart; Renninger, LeeAnn; Atzwanger, Klaus

doi:10.1007/978-3-662-07142-7_10

Cited by 39 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Despite our individual differences, we share a similar mental model that recognizes which environmental contexts are supportive and adaptive [40,41,42]. From the evolutionary point of view, biophilia is the shared mental model [22] and humans’ predisposition to recognize the biophilic quality of a certain habitat reflects the adaptations designed by natural selection aimed to help us to choose the place where to live [27,43,44]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Individual’s Connection to Nature Can Affect Perceived Restorativeness of Natural Environments. Some Observations about Biophilia

Berto

Barbiero

et al. 2018

Behavioral Sciences

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This study investigates the relationship between the level to which a person feels connected to Nature and that person’s ability to perceive the restorative value of a natural environment. We assume that perceived restorativeness may depend on an individual’s connection to Nature and this relationship may also vary with the biophilic quality of the environment, i.e., the functional and aesthetic value of the natural environment which presumably gave an evolutionary advantage to our species. To this end, the level of connection to Nature and the perceived restorativeness of the environment were assessed in individuals visiting three parks characterized by their high level of “naturalness” and high or low biophilic quality. The results show that the perceived level of restorativeness is associated with the sense of connection to Nature, as well as the biophilic quality of the environment: individuals with different degrees of connection to Nature seek settings with different degrees of restorativeness and biophilic quality. This means that perceived restorativeness can also depend on an individual’s “inclination” towards Nature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Individual’s Connection to Nature Can Affect Perceived Restorativeness of Natural Environments. Some Observations about Biophilia

Berto

Barbiero

et al. 2018

Behavioral Sciences

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“…"Mystery is the promise of more useful information, and the mental inference of mystery draws us into the scenario for more information gathering" (Thornhill 2003). It has thus been seen as a fundamental root of our visual, and possibly also cross-domain aesthetics (Ruso et al 2003). Open-ended activities including musical composition and the learning of instruments may trigger this evolutionary sense of enjoyable mystery in the same way.…”

Section: Open-endedness and Long-term Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Music and Human-Computer Interaction

Holland¹,

Wilkie²,

Mulholland³

et al. 2013

Springer Series on Cultural Computing

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Musical instruments have a property of long-term engagement: people frequently become so engaged with them that they practice and play them for years, despite receiving no compensation other than enjoyment. We examine this phenomenon by analysing how the intrinsic motives mastery, autonomy, and purpose are built into the design of musical instruments; because, according to the self-determination theory of motivation, these three motives impact whether an activity might be found enjoyable. This analysis resulted in the identification of seven abstract qualities, inherent to the activity of music making or to the design of musical instruments, which contribute to the three intrinsic motives. These seven qualities can be treated as heuristics for the design of human-computer interfaces that have long-term engagement. These heuristics can be used throughout the design process, from the preliminary stage of idea generation to the evaluation stage of finished prototypes. Interfaces with instrument-like long-term engagement would be useful in many applications, both inside and outside the realm of music: they seem particularly suited for applications based on the attainment of long-term goals, which can be found in fields such as physical fitness, rehabilitation, education, and many others. In this chapter, we discuss an interface prototype we created and its pending evaluation. This interface, a rehabilitative rhythm game, serves as a case study showing how the heuristics might be used during the design process.

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“…Aoki, 1999;Ruso et al, 2003]: what are the features of a landscape that make it more or less attractive to a human observer? Some of the attraction can be explained rather straightforwardly on the basis of evolutionary psychology: most people like features such as lakes, animals, trees and flowers which indicate the presence of resources (water, food, shelter…) that enhance fitness.…”

Section: Landscapes Of Adventurementioning

confidence: 99%

Life is an Adventure! An Agent-Based Reconciliation of Narrative and Scientific Worldviews

Heylighen

2011

SSRN Journal

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Abstract:The scientific worldview is based on laws, which are supposed to be certain, objective, and independent of time and context. The narrative worldview found in literature, myth and religion, is based on stories, which relate the events experienced by a subject in a particular context with an uncertain outcome. This paper argues that the concept of "agent", supported by the theories of evolution, cybernetics and complex adaptive systems, allows us to reconcile scientific and narrative perspectives. An agent follows a course of action through its environment with aim of maximizing its fitness. Navigation along that course combines the strategies of regulation, exploitation and exploration, but needs to cope with often-unforeseen diversions. These can be positive (affordances, opportunities), negative (disturbances, dangers) or neutral (surprises). The resulting sequence of encounters and actions can be conceptualized as an adventure. Thus, the agent appears to play the role of the hero in a tale of challenge and mystery that is very similar to the "monomyth", the basic storyline that underlies all myths and fairy tales according to Campbell [1949]. This narrative dynamics is driven forward in particular by the alternation between prospect (the ability to foresee diversions) and mystery (the possibility of achieving an as yet absent prospect), two aspects of the environment that are particularly attractive to agents. This dynamics generalizes the scientific notion of a deterministic trajectory by introducing a variable "horizon of knowability": the agent is never fully certain of its further course, but can anticipate depending on its degree of prospect.

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Human Habitat Preferences: A Generative Territory for Evolutionary Aesthetics Research

Cited by 39 publications

References 32 publications

An Individual’s Connection to Nature Can Affect Perceived Restorativeness of Natural Environments. Some Observations about Biophilia

An Individual’s Connection to Nature Can Affect Perceived Restorativeness of Natural Environments. Some Observations about Biophilia

Music and Human-Computer Interaction

Life is an Adventure! An Agent-Based Reconciliation of Narrative and Scientific Worldviews

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