Contribution ofAffect and Cognition in Shaping Aesthetic Responses

Abstract

Art appreciation is one of the most unique human experiences (Pepperell, 2011), often being associated with exceptional states of consciousness. These experiences are formed based on the interaction between the work of art itself, the observer, and the context. Using the multilevel modelling with crossed random effects analysis, we explored the connection between the affective and cognitive appraisals of a visual work of art and the aesthetic judgment. Two studies were performed. In the first, lay persons (N = 34, 29 women, Mage = 18.6 years), appraised figural paintings with pleasant and unpleasant content. In the second study (N = 72, 54 women, Mage = 18.5 years), abstract and realistic paintings were appraised. Both affective and cognitive appraisals have a positive connection with aesthetic judgement. Naïve observers use everyday, practical perception when evaluating works of art, and the paintings which are more fluently processed were assessed as more aesthetically pleasing. The deviation of a painting from traditional art canons further strengthens the reliance on everyday perception in lay persons, whereby these artworks lose their artistic status becoming closer to ordinary, everyday objects.