All is beautiful? Generality vs. specificity of word usage in visual aesthetics.

TY - JOUR

T1 - All is beautiful? Generality vs. specificity of word usage in visual aesthetics.

AU - Augustin, Matthias

AU - Wagemans, Johan

AU - Carbon, Claus-Christian

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - A central problem in the literature on psychological aesthetics is a lack of precision in terminology regarding the description and measurement of aesthetic impressions. The current research project approached the problem of terminology empirically, by studying people's word usage to describe aesthetic impressions. For eight different object classes that are relevant in visual aesthetics, including visual art, landscapes, faces and different design classes, we examined which words people use to describe their aesthetic impressions, and which general conceptual dimensions might underlie similarities and differences between the classes. The results show an interplay between generality and specificity in aesthetic word usage. In line with results by Jacobsen, Buchta, Kohler, and Schroger (2004)beautiful and ugly seem to be the words with most general relevance, but in addition each object class has its own distinct pattern of relevant terms. Multidimensional scaling and correspondence analysis suggest that the most extreme positions in aesthetic word usage for the classes studied are taken by landscapes and geometric shapes and patterns. This research aims to develop a language of aesthetics for the visual modality. Such a common vocabulary should facilitate the development of cross-disciplinary models of aesthetics and create a basis for the construction of standardised aesthetic measures.

AB - A central problem in the literature on psychological aesthetics is a lack of precision in terminology regarding the description and measurement of aesthetic impressions. The current research project approached the problem of terminology empirically, by studying people's word usage to describe aesthetic impressions. For eight different object classes that are relevant in visual aesthetics, including visual art, landscapes, faces and different design classes, we examined which words people use to describe their aesthetic impressions, and which general conceptual dimensions might underlie similarities and differences between the classes. The results show an interplay between generality and specificity in aesthetic word usage. In line with results by Jacobsen, Buchta, Kohler, and Schroger (2004)beautiful and ugly seem to be the words with most general relevance, but in addition each object class has its own distinct pattern of relevant terms. Multidimensional scaling and correspondence analysis suggest that the most extreme positions in aesthetic word usage for the classes studied are taken by landscapes and geometric shapes and patterns. This research aims to develop a language of aesthetics for the visual modality. Such a common vocabulary should facilitate the development of cross-disciplinary models of aesthetics and create a basis for the construction of standardised aesthetic measures.

KW - Adult

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Adolescent

KW - Terminology as Topic

KW - Esthetics

KW - Visual Perception

KW - Vocabulary

KW - Adult

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Adolescent

KW - Terminology as Topic

KW - Esthetics

KW - Visual Perception

KW - Vocabulary

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

VL - 139

SP - 187

EP - 201

JO - ACTA PSYCHOL

JF - ACTA PSYCHOL

SN - 0001-6918

IS - 1

M1 - 1

ER -