Mystery in experimental psychology, how to measure aesthetic emotions?

Perlovsky, Leonid

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01006

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…They provide a phenomenological realisation of disinterested attention, the state that, according to Kant (1952Kant ( /1790 and his followers, one must be in when contemplating a work of art. That is, when one is engaging with a work of art, or more specifically with its beauty, but without desire (without the desire to acquire it, and without worrying about everyday life distractions, such as paying an outstanding bill, and so on), one experiences pleasure, or some might say 'aesthetic pleasure' (see also Perlovsky, 2014a;Perlovsky, 2014b). Aesthetic emotions provide a language through which to communicate the experiential aspects of this pleasure.…”

Section: Aesthetic Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We begin by presenting two areas of aesthetic experience that are controversial and/or referred to in an inconsistent manner, but are nevertheless considered fundamental to the aesthetic 'experience', namely hedonic tone (Crisp, 2006) and aesthetic emotions (Perlovsky, 2014b). We then present our framework, through which we explain how the understanding of aesthetic experience can be organized in a systematic way (following from the suggestion proposed by Cochrane, 2010).…”

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“…This has placed greater pressure on basic matters of terminology, because while philosophers contest questions such as 'what is an aesthetic experience ' (e.g. Beardsley, 1969;Dickie, 1997;Ingarden, 1961;Shusterman, 1997), psychologists often draw attention to the emotional aspects of such experiences and use terms interchangeably, and at times in a rather imprecise manner, but with the primary aim of reduction and measurement (Perlovsky, 2014a(Perlovsky, , 2014b.We see the role of emotion as jostling for intellectual consideration with the more traditional definitions that are concerned with beauty and the sublime. For example, Brattico, Bogert, & Jacobsen (2013) argue that "the aesthetic experience comes to full fruition by inducing emotions in the individual (particularly aesthetic ones…), by prompting an evaluative judgment of e.g., beauty, and by determining liking and a timelasting preference" (p.2, column 2).…”

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“…Juslin, 2013;Perlovsky, 2002). These varied perspectives have their roots in philosophy as well as the definition and nature of aesthetic emotions (see further, Keltner & Haidt, 2003;Perlovsky, 2014aPerlovsky, , 2014bPouivet, 2000) which has motivated researchers in psychology to aim for a high level of precision when dealing with the nebulous concepts that the study of emotion demands.Thus, one of the purposes of the concept of the aesthetic emotion is to reconcile the traditional view of beauty in the aesthetic experience. From a research perspective, the 'aesthetic emotion' concept shifts the focus of aesthetic experience away from the perception of the object (which we refer to as residing in the 'external locus') and into the highly personal, subjective realm of experience (residing in the 'internal locus').…”

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Aesthetic Experience Explained by the Affect-Space Framework

Schubert¹,

North²,

Hargreaves³

2017

EMR

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A framework for organizing the semantic structure of aesthetic experience is proposed. The new framework is presented in an 'affect-space' and consists of three sets of dichotomous classifications: (1) internal locus (the felt experience) versus external locus (the description of the object), (2) 'affect-valence' -the attraction to (positive valence, e.g. preference, awe) or repulsion from (negative valence, e.g. hatred, disgust) the artwork/object -versus 'emotion-valence' -the character/contemplation of an emotion (happiness-an example of positive valence, sadness-an example of negative valence), and (3) deep versus shallow hedonic tone-e.g. 'awe' is deep, 'preference' is shallow. Deep hedonic tone is proposed as a better index of aesthetic experience (awe, being moved etc.) than shallow hedonic tone (preference, pleasure, enjoyment). Deep, internal locus, affect-valence during the contemplation of an object amenable to an aesthetic judgement (beautiful, ugly etc.) presents the necessary and sufficient conditions for an aesthetic experience. The framework allows future researchers to consider which aspects of an experience come closest to actual aesthetic experience from an empirical aesthetics perspective. It also highlights the limited value in grouping together so many aesthetic experiences under the rubric of emotion, such as aesthetic emotions, preference, basic emotions and so forth. Our framework paves the way for testing and further development of theory on aesthetic experience. Submitted 2016 February 10; accepted 2016 April 3. KEYWORDS: aesthetic experience, aesthetic emotions, affect, hedonic tone, locus THIS paper presents a semantic framework that organizes critical aspects of aesthetic experience for psychological and philosophical research. Recent years have seen a boom in attempts to draw together theories and empirical data on aesthetic experience (Jacobsen, 2006;Leder & Nadal, 2014) . Yet, as some accounts point out, there exist numerous gaps and confusions (e.g., Augustin, Wagemans, & Carbon, 2012;Konečni, 2012;Locher, Overbeeke, & Wensveen, 2010). One of the most critical is the definition of the aesthetic experience itself. An aesthetic experience may be defined through the philosophical concept of disinterested contemplation (Levinson, 1992). It may involve a combination of cognitive and emotional processes (Locher, et al., 2010). It may be defined in terms of the qualities of the object (music, artwork, etc.) or in terms of the affective sensations of the individual as a result of contemplating the object (Beardsley, 1969). The act of creative production (such as a musician playing at a concert, an artist painting in a studio, or a composer at work) and its relationship to the perception and contemplation of art works are involved (Tinio, 2013). The brain activity that corresponds to aesthetic experience is another way of defining the process, although the neuroscientific understanding of aesthetic experience is in its infancy (Brattico, Bogert, & Jacobsen, 2013;Brattico &...

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Section: Aesthetic Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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