Effects of continuous self-reporting on aesthetic evaluation and emotional responses

Abstract

In empirical aesthetics, self-reports on subjective experiences are an important source of data. In addition to retrospective ratings, continuous ratings of ongoing experiences or perceptions are particularly promising for examining their dynamic trajectory over time. One crucial question in this regard, however, is whether a continuous rating task affects or even disrupts the aesthetic experience of an art performance. To answer this question, we had 65 participants divided into two groups listen to a recording of the Dadaist sound poem Ursonate by Kurt Schwitters. One group was asked to continuously rate their liking throughout the auditory presentation, whereas the other group listened only. We collected 25 aesthetically evaluative ratings after each of the four movements of the Ursonate and 21 emotion ratings at the very end. Furthermore, throughout the entire presentation of the poem we also continuously measured each participant's heart rate and skin conductance. The two groups did not differ in either kind of retrospective self-report. This lack of differences was corroborated by a lack of differences in physiological responses. Furthermore, the task of giving a continuous liking rating was reported to be reasonably well manageable, although not easy. Thus, asking audiences for continuous ratings does not seem too strenuous a task, and it does not systematically alter the subjective experience as captured in retrospective ratings.