Transformed by Beauty: Aesthetic Appreciation Increases Abstract Thinking and Self-Transcendent Emotions in an Art Museum

Abstract

According to prominent philosophical views, appreciating beauty involves psychological distancing, where one does not consider the beautiful object in light of practical interests, and beauty leads to transformative and self-transcendent affective experiences. In this study (N = 187), conducted in the naturalistic environment of a museum, we explored these ideas. Half the participants were instructed to rate the beauty of pottery objects created by a renowned artist, while the other half engaged in a control task that did not involve evaluating beauty. Based on Construal Level Theory, we used the Behavior Identification Form to explore whether aesthetic experiences encourage abstract thinking, and in turn, psychological distance. We also predicted that beauty appreciation would lead to greater transformative and self-transcendent emotions. Indeed, appreciating the beauty of artworks led participants to think in a more abstract way, especially those who practice an art hobby themselves, as well as to transformative, and self-transcendent emotions.