The role of expertise in visual exploration and aesthetic judgment of residential building façades: An eye-tracking study.

Abstract

The building façade has considerable effects on the aesthetic experience of observers. However, the experience may differ depending on the observers' expertise. This study was conducted to explore the impact of expertise on preference, visual exploration, and cognitive experience during the aesthetic judgment of designed façades. For this purpose, we developed a paradigm in two separate parts: aesthetic judgment (AJ) and eye movement recording (EMR). Thirty-eight participants participated in this experiment in two groups (21 experts/17 nonexperts). The results revealed significant differences between the two groups in terms of the type and number of preferred façades, as well as eye movement indicators. In addition, based on judgment reaction time and fixation duration as proxy measures of cognitive experience, it was found that expertise might be correlated with cognitive load and task demand. The findings indicate the importance of façades for both groups and suggest that their physical attributes could be effectively manipulated to impact aesthetic experiences in relation to architectural designs.

Application of Neuroscience Tools in Building Construction – An Interdisciplinary Analysis

“…Architectural appearance greatly impacts the aesthetic experience of the observer, while the judgment of beauty and unattractiveness are closely related to personal expertise as well as subjective feelings. Therefore, architects usually use eye tracking technology to not only determine the aesthetic effect of architectural elements but also explore the relationship between the observer’s gaze pattern with the formal properties of architectural elements under different design parameters ( Jam et al, 2021 ). Previous studies have also reported the use of ERP and fMRI in analysis of key psychological dimensions sensitive to specific design parameters and the neural features evoked ( Ma et al, 2015 ; Coburn et al, 2020 ).…”

Correlation research on visual behavior and cognition of impression against localized church facades in China

“…Cook et al [ 18 ] studied the influence of personality on aesthetic preferences, and indicated that architectural familiarity was found to be highly predictive of preferences for all styles. Jam et al [ 19 ] confirmed the impact of expertise on preference, visual exploration, and cognitive experience during the aesthetic judgment of designed façades. By comparing the perceptional similarities and differences between designers and users on residential buildings' facades.…”

“…In summary, differences in the cognition of viewers have been confirmed, eye movement indicators such as the first fixation duration, the total fixation duration and the visit count can all be interpreted as target attractiveness and information coding difficulty [ 19 ]. But there is a lack of a clear definition of eye movement indicators on public perceptions such as impression and acceptance.…”