Polish version of the Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire: validation and psychometric characteristics

Abstract

IntroductionThe purpose of the article is to present the results of works on the Polish version of the Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire (AEQ). The AEQ is a 22-item tool for assessing aesthetic experience in the following dimensions: emotional, cultural, perceptual, understanding, and two dimensions about flow (proximal conditions and flow experience).MethodsIn the course of works on the Polish version of the AEQ, 3 independent studies with the participation of more than 800 people were carried out. In addition to the AEQ measurement, the tools included: the Emotion Regulation Strategies for Artistic Creative Activities Scale, the Brief Music in Mood Regulation, the Aesthetic Competence Scale, the Aesthetic Processing Preference Scale, the Need for Cognition Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale, the Material Values Scale and the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale.ResultsThe results obtained in the three studies through Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated the compliance of the factor structure of the Polish version of the AEQ with the original and its good psychometric characteristics. It was also shown that the overall result and individual components of the aesthetic experience correlate positively with emotion regulation through artistic creative activities and mood regulation through music, aesthetic competences (music, literature, plastic arts, film), cognitive curiosity and some dimensions of aesthetic processing preferences. The studies also proved a very weak positive relationship between aesthetic experience and meaning of life. The assumption about a negative correlation between aesthetic experience and depression or materialism was not confirmed.DiscussionThe Polish version of the AEQ is a credible psychometric measurement and encourages scientists to design research on the psychology of art and aesthetics in the Polish cultural conditions.

The unexplored territory of aesthetic needs and the development of the Aesthetic Needs Scale

“…Example items: “I see the work of art as an extension of its time period," and “I lose track of time when I view the work of art." The Polish validation of the tool was used in this study [ 74 ]. Reliability indicators in the present study were as follow: perceptual–α = 0.84, emotional–α = 0.86, cultural–α = 0.83, understanding–α = 0.80, proximal conditions for flow–α = 0.79, flow experience–α = 0.87, and total score–α = 0.94.…”

The mediating effect of the need for cognition between aesthetic experiences and aesthetic competence in art

“…Susceptibility to aesthetic experiences (and their intensity) would, therefore, be a component, not a full manifestation of AQ. The authors would like to mention that the degree of convergent validity of the two concepts puzzled us during a broader study aimed at adapting the Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire 28 to Polish cultural conditions. We expected high correlations between aesthetic experiences and aesthetic competence.…”

“…In research on the construction of the Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire, Wanzer and her team 8 verified the correlations between aesthetic experiences and measures of openness to experience, inspiration, curiosity, and exploration. Further, the research on the Polish adaptation of this scale revealed that “[t]he inclination for analytical observation of reality may encourage greater engagement in contemplation of art” 28 , p. 04 , as aesthetic experience is correlated with need for cognition. Therefore, the following hypothesis was formed:…”

“…As intended by the authors, the scale applies primarily to the visual arts (e.g., painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking), but can also be applied to other areas of art. The study used the Polish version of the AEQ 28 . Like the original, the Polish version contains 22 statements grouped into six aspects of aesthetic experience: the emotional, cultural, perceptual and understanding dimensions, conditions conducive to flow, and experience of the flow state.…”

Aesthetic Experience and the Ability to Integrate Beauty: The Mediating Effect of Spirituality

“… 18 Other research has shown that people who score high on the Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire are not only more aesthetically competent, but also more cognitively inclined and more likely to turn to artistic creation and music to manage their emotions. 24 Suwiński 25 writes that the experience of beauty is a fundamental aspect of human existence, which manifests itself in cognitive processes as either pleasure or preference.…”