Preference for paintings is also affected by curvature.

Abstract

Preference for curvature has been demonstrated using many types of stimuli, but it remains an open question whether curvature plays a relevant role in responses to original artworks. To investigate this, a novel set of paintings was created, consisting of three variations-curved, sharp-angled, and mixed-of the same 16 indeterminate subjects. The present research aimed to differentiate between liking and wanting decisions. We assessed liking both online (Study 1) and in the lab (Study 2, Task 2), using a continuous slider and a dichotomous forced choice, respectively. In both tasks, participants assigned higher ratings to the curved compared to the sharp-angled version of the paintings. Similarly, when participants were explicitly asked if they wanted to take the paintings home, they assigned higher wanting ratings to the curved version (Study 2, Task 3). However, when they were asked to act as a curator selecting the works they wanted for their gallery (Study 2, Task 4) and to make a physical effort to visually consume the painting (implicit wanting; Study 2, Task 1), no significant difference was found. Finally, we found that implicit wanting decisions did not predict liking for paintings, while liking predicted explicit wanting of the artworks in both the home and art contexts. This confirmed that it is possible to differentiate between liking and wanting responses to artistically relevant stimuli. We conclude that this theoretical distinction helps to explain previous conflicting results on the curvature effect, establishing a new line of research in the field of empirical aesthetics.

Shape familiarity modulates preference for curvature in drawings of common-use objects

“…Our results also showed that higher scores in the Unconventionality facet predicted less preference for the curved drawings in Experiment 2. This might be related to the idea that the sharp-angled shapes are perceived as more avant-garde (Ruta et al, 2021) and unconventional people tend to show a higher preference for innovative designs. Interestingly, Cotter et al (2017) found that higher unconventionality scores predicted more preference for curvature using irregular polygons.…”

“…Preference for curvature was shown using drawings of car interiors (Leder & Carbon, 2005), pictures of windows (Naghibi Rad et al, 2019), furniture (Dazkir & Read, 2012), product packaging (Westerman et al, 2012), exterior façades (Ruta et al, 2019) and interior architectural environments (Van Oel & Van den Berkhof, 2013;Vartanian et al, 2013;Vartanian et al, 2017), among others. While most of these stimuli involve representational content, preference for curvature was also found using non-representational art-related stimuli such as abstract artworks (Ruta et al, 2021) or abstract shapes and patterns (Bertamini et al, 2016;.…”

How universal is preference for visual curvature? A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Since then, a great number of studies have found that objects that exhibit curvilinear contour are preferred to objects that exhibit angular contour (for reviews see 9,10 ). In addition to abstract and isolated forms and lines 11 , this preference for curvilinear contours has been observed across a wide range of objects, including everyday artefacts and natural entities, building facades, interior rooms, as well as visual art [12][13][14][15][16] .…”

The Influence of Educational Psychology on Modern Art Design Entrepreneurship Education in Colleges

“…Therefore, it is closely related to art itself and art education. More directly, art psychology can help guide artists' works to be better understood (Ruta et al, 2021 ). Therefore, based on educational psychology, the influence of art psychology on modern art education in colleges is analyzed.…”