Aesthetic Emotions Research Articles

Use of Clive Bell's Theory in the Lamongan Typical Lele Pecel Banner Image

Clive Bell is a philosopher of modern classical art who is famous for his idea of ​​significant form. Bell is a philosopher who was influenced by Plato's line of thought about beautiful forms that seem to be outside the form of the work itself. According to him, all aesthetic systems start from the subject's personal experience of the occurrence of typical emotions. There are three theories of Clive Bell, namely aesthetic emotion, meaningful form, and essentialism. This research uses a qualitative research approach with data collection stages as the completion material for this research, because qualitative methods generally emphasize analysis or descriptiveness. Data can be obtained from data collection techniques in the form of in-depth interviews and observation. Based on the analysis carried out, a new meaning emerged in the typical Lamongan catfish pecel banner. The Lamongan catfish pecel banner is not just an ordinary banner without any artistic value in it. After carrying out this research, it was found that in the catfish pecel banner there are Clive Bell's principles, namely aesthetic emotions, meaningful forms, and essentialism and there are also principles of painting such as color lines, shapes, planes, and textures.

Expressivity attributed to music affects the smoothness of bowing movements in violinists

Playing music is a complex task that relies on the combination of musicians’ technical and expressive skills. While the literature has investigated the effects of musical expressivity on the listeners, the way how technical difficulty and emotional expressivity affect musicians during playing has surprisingly received no attention. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, we collected behavioral and physiological data from twelve violinists playing 29 pieces that included both technical exercises and excerpts from classical repertoire for violin. After playing each stimulus, participants rated it for emotional expressivity and technical difficulty. During the entire session, cardiac parameters and electrodermal activity were collected, together with the kinematic parameters of the bowing gesture. A set of Linear Mixed-Effect (LME) models suggested that emotional expressivity attributed to music affected the fluidity of bowing (i.e., smoothness), with the excerpts rated as more expressive being performed in a less smooth way. In contrast, LME models revealed no effects of expressivity and technical difficulty on any of the physiological parameters of violinists. Our results offer novel insights into the psychophysiological dynamics that link motor parameters with musical expressivity. These findings could influence educational practices in music and deepen our understanding of aesthetic emotions.

Bridging Ecologies through Contemplative Technologies: Existential Relevance of Huatou 話頭 and the Huayan sanmei men 華嚴三昧門 for Oxytocin and Environmentally Sustainable Behavior

Contemplative technologies in the form of Buddhist practices that challenge the sense of self and thereby enhance the experience of interrelationality are viable strategies for addressing existential concerns such as the environmental crisis. Much of the existing research on Buddhism and ecology neglects to measure environmentally sustainable behavior or engage with empirical research. Likewise, experiments measuring the effects of contemplative practice on oxytocin, a neuropeptide hormone often implicated in interrelational contexts, are scarce. This study explores the existential relevance of Chan and Huayan practices for oxytocin and environmentally sustainable behavior. Using empirical methods, it reports on an experimental fieldwork study among international participants in a one-month retreat at a Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. Salivary oxytocin, recycling, and food waste were measured, while phenomenological reports of experiences during contemplative practice were also obtained. Results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay indicate a marginal increase in oxytocin following Chan practice of the huatou “Who recites the Buddha’s name?” which targets the sense of self, consistent with phenomenological reports reflecting an interrelational, ecological sense of self through huatou. Results also indicate increased recycling and decreased food waste by mass as a function of time on retreat. While the precise mechanisms explaining why participants exhibited more environmentally sustainable behaviors are currently unclear, the discussion proposes an empirically testable framework for bridging ecologies that links emotion, sense of self, and behavior. Contemplative practices may contribute to changes in oxytocin and environmentally sustainable behavior through activation of existential, aesthetic emotions such as doubt and awe, thereby inducing changes in the practitioner’s sense of self, which they may then experience as interrelated with broader ecologies, a possibility awaiting further research. The huatou fieldwork and proposed follow-up study on the Huayan sanmei men thus shed light on the relevance of contemplative technologies from Chinese Buddhism for bridging ecologies in the existentially relational sense.

Emotional palette: a computational mapping of aesthetic experiences evoked by visual art

Despite the evolutionary history and cultural significance of visual art, the structure of aesthetic experiences it evokes has only attracted recent scientific attention. What kinds of experience does visual art evoke? Guided by Semantic Space Theory, we identify the concepts that most precisely describe people’s aesthetic experiences using new computational techniques. Participants viewed 1457 artworks sampled from diverse cultural and historical traditions and reported on the emotions they felt and their perceived artwork qualities. Results show that aesthetic experiences are high-dimensional, comprising 25 categories of feeling states. Extending well beyond hedonism and broad evaluative judgments (e.g., pleasant/unpleasant), aesthetic experiences involve emotions of daily social living (e.g., “sad”, “joy”), the imagination (e.g., “psychedelic”, “mysterious”), profundity (e.g., “disgust”, “awe”), and perceptual qualities attributed to the artwork (e.g., “whimsical”, “disorienting”). Aesthetic emotions and perceptual qualities jointly predict viewers’ liking of the artworks, indicating that we conceptualize aesthetic experiences in terms of the emotions we feel but also the qualities we perceive in the artwork. Aesthetic experiences are often mixed and lie along continuous gradients between categories rather than within discrete clusters. Our collection of artworks is visualized within an interactive map (https://barradeau.com/2021/emotions-map/), revealing the high-dimensional space of aesthetic experiences associated with visual art.

Approbation of the aesthetic emotions scale on a russian sample

Approbation of the aesthetic emotions scale on a russian sample

The urban aesthetics of graffiti murals: reproducing wall space in China’s urban renewal

In China, as in the West in recent decades to a lesser degree, the semantics of ‘graffiti’ have gradually become an alternative term for graffiti murals in urban renewal. Graffiti murals, through various renewal strategies, reproduce the wall spaces of old towns, factories and villages in Chinese urban areas, giving rise to diverse aesthetic attitudes. Taking Guangzhou, China, as a case study, this article utilizes graffiti mural images defined as ‘graffiti’ by people on social media as the basic material. Visual research methods such as photo evaluation and eye-tracking experiments are employed to analyse the aesthetic attitudes and mechanisms of mainstream street art, which in fact differ from traditional graffiti. The study reveals that people perceive different types of graffiti mural spaces in various ways, with a more positive aesthetic attitude towards urban mural landscapes that exhibit aesthetic coherence. Viewers with embodied practice experiences in ‘graffiti’ show stronger aesthetic emotions compared to those who have not visited the case study location. These differences are further influenced by the aesthetic atmosphere of the environment and the aesthetic practices of different subjects onsite, deviating slightly from the spatial aesthetic operational logic of traditional graffiti. From various perspectives on Chinese ‘graffiti’, the visual methodology constructed in this study provides new insights for the aesthetic management of urban renewal.

The inductive effect of musical mode types on emotions and physiological responses: Chinese pentatonic scales versus Western major/minor modes.

The value of music lies in its ability to evoke emotions. People can gain emotional experiences in music and can also regulate their own emotions through music. Music has its own structural rules, and exploring the relationship between musical structure and emotions is an important approach to understanding the mechanism of music-induced emotions. Musical mode refers to the arrangement of intervals around the tonic, presenting different musical modes based on the central tone and the arrangement of intervals, including Chinese pentatonic modes and Western major and minor modes. Musical morphology indicates significant differences in the construction intensity of traditional Chinese pentatonic modes and major and minor modes, affecting their mode forms and thus determining their adaptability to external influences. Exploring the modalities of music and the effects of individual music training experiences on emotion induction; validating whether musical modes exhibit cross-cultural universality in the process of emotion induction. This study recruited 65 university students as participants (34 with music training experience, 31 without music training experience). Through a passive listening paradigm using the GEMS and combined with a biofeedback equipment, it explored the differences in behavioral and physiological indicators (skin conductance, temperature, heart rate) of emotional experiences (basic and aesthetic emotions) influenced by the modal forms of Chinese traditional pentatonic modes and Western major and minor modes. Firstly, the arousal level of music emotion is a primary factor influencing individuals' aesthetic emotional experiences in music, which is related to the intensity of modal construction in music; Secondly, the emotional pleasure and skin temperature change induced by pentatonic music are greater than those induced by major and minor modes; Thirdly, the arousal level, electrodermal change, and heart rate variability of major and minor modes are greater than those of pentatonic music; Finally, music training experience enhances college students' familiarity and preference for pentatonic music, thereby strengthening the electrodermal physiological indicators of emotional experiences. The different modal forms of music express different levels of emotional arousal, leading to differences in individuals' emotional dimensions and physiological indicators in music. Additionally, individuals' music training experiences and cultural backgrounds also influence their experience of music emotions.

The well-being benefits of virtual art galleries: Examining the roles of emotion, immersion, and individual differences

A wealth of research suggests that engaging with visual art and visiting art museums is beneficial to flourishing; however, less is known about the potential benefits of digital forms of engagement. An emerging literature provides preliminary evidence of the benefits of digital art engagement, but additional research on mechanisms and potential moderators of the benefits is necessary. The present study examines the impacts of repeated visitation to a virtual art gallery to address three questions: 1) Do well-being, emotion, and immersion differ between those in a digital art gallery versus those reading about art?; 2) Do personality and interest in art influence virtual art gallery visit qualities (i.e., emotion and immersion)?; and 3) Do visit qualities and individual differences predict well-being? A sample of 890 U.S. adults was recruited from Prolific. The findings suggest that: 1) People in a virtual gallery show greater well-being, immersion, and aesthetic emotion than those reading about art; 2) Openness to experience is most strongly linked with visit qualities; and 3) Immersion, positive and aesthetic emotion, extraversion, and neuroticism are associated with well-being. This work suggests that repeated engagement with art in a digital format has benefits and that future research should continue to examine the underlying mechanisms and ways digital art experiences can be best designed to be effective well-being interventions.

Psychological Benefits of Arts Participation for Emerging Adulthood: A Pathway to Flourishing.

This study examined 430 Chinese college students' engagement in arts activities and the psychological benefits derived from such activities. The research differentiated between various types of arts participation and ways of involvement and examined four potential positive psychological outcomes. The findings revealed correlations between (1) creative participation in the performing arts, 'flow', and aesthetic emotions; (2) consumptive participation in the visual arts and aesthetic emotions; and (3) creative participation in the literary arts and ego identity. Holistic arts participation demonstrated a significantly positive relationship with flourishing. A path analysis showed that flow experience and aesthetic emotions served as mediators in the mechanism through which holistic arts participation affected flourishing, with a chained mediation effect from flow experience to ego identity. This study confirms that arts participation is an effective pathway for individual flourishing and that more diverse and profound engagement in the arts can lead to sustained and widespread happiness.

Binocularly suppressed stimuli induce brain activities related to aesthetic emotions

IntroductionAesthetic emotions are a class of emotions aroused by evaluating aesthetically appealing objects or events. While evolutionary aesthetics suggests the adaptive roles of these emotions, empirical assessments are lacking. Previous neuroscientific studies have demonstrated that visual stimuli carrying evolutionarily important information induce neural responses even when presented non-consciously. To examine the evolutionary importance of aesthetic emotions, we conducted a neuroscientific study using magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure induced neural responses to non-consciously presented portrait paintings categorised as biological and non-biological and examined associations between the induced responses and aesthetic ratings.MethodsMEG and pre-rating data were collected from 23 participants. The pre-rating included visual analogue scales for object saliency, facial saliency, liking, and beauty scores, in addition to ‘biologi-ness,’ which was used for subcategorising stimuli into biological and non-biological. The stimuli were presented non-consciously using a continuous flash suppression paradigm or consciously using binocular presentation without flashing masks, while dichotomic behavioural responses were obtained (beauty or non-beauty). Time-frequency decomposed MEG data were used for correlation analysis with pre-rating scores for each category.ResultsBehavioural data revealed that saliency scores of non-consciously presented stimuli influenced dichotomic responses (beauty or non-beauty). MEG data showed that non-consciously presented portrait paintings induced spatiotemporally distributed low-frequency brain activities associated with aesthetic ratings, which were distinct between the biological and non-biological categories and conscious and non-conscious conditions.ConclusionAesthetic emotion holds evolutionary significance for humans. Neural pathways are sensitive to visual images that arouse aesthetic emotion in distinct ways for biological and non-biological categories, which are further influenced by consciousness. These differences likely reflect the diversity in mechanisms of aesthetic processing, such as processing fluency, active elaboration, and predictive processing. The aesthetic processing of non-conscious stimuli appears to be characterised by fluency-driven affective processing, while top-down regulatory processes are suppressed. This study provides the first empirical evidence supporting the evolutionary significance of aesthetic processing.

WONDER and AWE in the Old English Martyrology: Expression, Feeling Norms and Narrative Motifs

ABSTRACT Following recent research on the conceptualisation and expression of amazement and on cognitive models for wonder and awe, this paper examines these two emotional responses in the Old English Martyrology (OEM). Using different Old English lexical resources, and a bilingual edition of the OEM this paper analyses these two aesthetic emotions with the aim of determining what role they played in the emotional community where this text was composed. Additional aims include establishing whether there is a secular dimension to these emotions and whether it is censored in this text. This research argues that, while the author of the OEM does employ the terms in these two lexical domains in instances of emotional education, the text also contains examples where these emotional experiences are more consistent with how they are described in contemporary aesthetic emotion models, unlike other Old English hagiographical writings, where these emotions are fundamentally religious and spiritual responses.

The Influence of CG Technology on The Aesthetics of Chinese Magic Films Take The Candle in The Tomb Film Series for Example

This study aims to investigate the impact of computer-generated imagery (CG) on the aesthetic context and innovation of oriental gods and creatures in Chinese magical film footage. This study focuses on the analysis and research of CG technology in Chinese magical film lens images, as well as the aesthetic habits and aesthetic psychology of contemporary audiences towards oriental gods and creatures. This research employs a qualitative research approach because it is appropriate for examining the cultural background and aesthetic habits of Chinese magical film lens images created using CG technology, as well as the aesthetic emotions that the film evokes in its audience. This study specifically examines the aesthetic expression and breakthrough innovation of oriental gods and monsters in the CG screen effects of the film series Candle In The Tomb, as well as the operation process of Chinese magical film CG technology and its expression based on and the generative context and breakthrough innovation of oriental gods' aesthetic style. This study will provide a theory of the CG technology used to guide the visual aesthetics of Chinese fantasy films. It will benefit creators of Chinese magic films, researchers, academicians, students, and those interested in the subject's study and preservation.

Courageous Love: K. C. Bhattacharyya on the Puzzle of Painful Beauty

Abstract In the 1930s, the Bengali philosopher K. C. Bhattacharyya proposed a new theory of rasa, or aesthetic emotion, according to which aesthetic emotions are feelings that have other feelings as their intentional objects. This paper articulates how Bhattacharyya's theory offers a novel solution to the puzzle of how it is both possible and rational to enjoy the kind of negative emotions that are inspired by tragic and sorrowful tales. The new solution is distinct from the conversion and compensation views that dominate the existing literature, and it derives its significance from how it ties aesthetic experience to self-awareness.

Development of the Engagement with Beauty Scale‐Revised, Japanese Version (EBS‐R‐J), and Confirmation of its Validity and Reliability

AbstractAppreciation of beauty is an ability to find, recognize, and emotionally respond to beauty. It is often considered to be associated with several psychological fields, such as forms of the good life, love, transcendence, and exploration. The Engagement with Beauty Scale‐Revised (EBS‐R) is one of the most comprehensive scales for measuring the beauty appreciation trait. In this study, we have developed the Japanese version of this scale (EBS‐R‐J) and confirmed its reliability and validity through two surveys conducted in Japan. Specifically, this study has not only validated the original four‐factor structure of the EBS‐R‐J, but also revealed an alternative five‐factor model. Both models had satisfactory internal consistency estimates for the total score and subscales, had verified concurrent validity through examining correlations with the Aesthetic Emotions Scale (AESTHEMOS), had verified known‐groups validity by comparing the scores of the EBS‐R‐J between groups of art‐experienced and art‐inexperienced individuals, and confirmed the temporal reliability of the EBS‐R‐J by means of correlation coefficients for a 4‐week interval for the total score and each subscale score. In conclusion, the EBS‐R‐J developed in this study has relatively satisfactory reliability and validity, indicating that it represents a valid measure of the trait of beauty appreciation in the Japanese language.

Creative Ideas and Aesthetic Emotions in the Sonata for Violin and Piano by Leoš Janáček

Creative Ideas and Aesthetic Emotions in the Sonata for Violin and Piano by Leoš Janáček

The influence of college students' aesthetic cognitions on aesthetic behaviours: The Chain mediation effect.

This research investigates the psychological and behavioural mechanisms of college students' aesthetic behaviours. A survey was administered to 1,060 students attending general undergraduate universities and measured four structured scales: aesthetic cognition, aesthetic emotion, aesthetic value tendency and aesthetic behaviour. The responses were scored with a 5-point Likert scale. Structural equation modelling was used to construct the measurement model and structural model. The survey results indicate a positive correlation among the four variables. Second, aesthetic cognition has a direct and positive predictive effect on college students' daily aesthetic practices. Furthermore, aesthetic cognition influences aesthetic behaviour through the chain mediating effect of aesthetic feeling and aesthetic preference. Accordingly, we conclude that the concrete path and mechanism of college students' aesthetic cognitions affect their aesthetic behaviours. Specifically, college students' aesthetic cognitive abilities are conducive to their cognitions of positive aesthetic feelings and their cultivation of aesthetic standards, boosting the development of their daily aesthetic practice.

Aesthetic emotional reactions and their verbal expression in a corpus of Japanese travellers’ online reviews

Abstract Using Conceptual Metaphor Theory, I propose a study of aesthetic emotional expressions in Japanese. With this aim, I have created a medium-sized corpus (c100,000 running words) of travellers’ reviews in Japanese published on TripAdvisor between 2012 and 2022. The corpus consists of 1,100 reviews, grouped into three subsections, corresponding to three of the most visited landmarks in Japan (namely, Mount Fuji, Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, and the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome). The reviews chosen for this research include at least one reference, either literal or figurative, to the users’ aesthetic evaluation of their visit. My list of aesthetic emotions consists of four large categories: emotions of pleasure (e.g., attraction, fluency), emotions of contemplation (e.g., interest, intrigue), emotions of amazement (e.g., awe, wonder), and emotions of respect (e.g., admiration, adoration). For each aesthetic emotion, I have identified a series of source domains, which I analyse in detail in my discussion. As my data shows, many of our aesthetic expressions are rooted in the psychological and behavioural changes triggered by these emotions and, therefore, should be considered embodied. More importantly, through the analysis of the conceptual mappings involved in these linguistic expressions, it can be affirmed that aesthetic reactions are sensitive to cultural influences and, thus, they are not necessarily universal.

Designing a wheel-based assessment tool to measure visual aesthetic emotions

Measuring emotions in a comprehensive and meaningful way has been a constant challenge for emotion researchers in behavioral sciences. There is much debate surrounding affect and emotion conveyed in artwork as these elements are subjective higher-level semantics that are difficult to measure objectively. This paper introduces the Visual Aesthetic Wheel of Emotion (VAWE), a domain-specific device for measuring visual aesthetic emotions, which was structurally inspired by the Geneva Emotion Wheel (GEW). The development of the emotion terms used in this device were based on an extensive literature review on emotions induced by visual art and music, as well as various assessment tools. A set of emotions representing different categories were compiled and a field study was conducted to select the most appropriate terms for the wheel. VAWE contains twenty emotion terms that reflect emotional responses to a perceived aesthetic emotion from artwork stimuli. GEW’s adaptation procedure and analysis was used to determine the placement of the terms around the wheel, including a self-reporting test was developed and implemented with sixty participants. The twenty aesthetic emotion terms are organized on a wheel-like format with points on the spokes of the wheel representing the intensity users feel, along with a neutral option in the center. The device differs from instruments that require respondents to rate their feelings on a list of emotions terms as it organizes the terms to be rated on a theoretically justified two-dimensional system of valence and arousal.

Aesthetic emotions in a mixed reality gastrosonic experience: an exploratory study

ABSTRACTWe examine the emergence of aesthetic emotions in an exploratory study on a mixed reality (MR) gastrosonic experience. Participants in an art-science event completed the AESTHEMOS questionnaire on aesthetic emotions and the Multimodal Presence Scale, reporting a wide spectrum of prototypical, pleasant and epistemic emotions. Food enjoyment was correlated with the prototypical aesthetic emotions of fascination and enchantment and feelings of self-presence were correlated with the prototypical emotions of being moved/in awe. Crossmodally matched food was highly congruent with music and visuals. Our findings suggest the relevance of studying environmental aesthetics in the context of these novel eating situations.

Emotional Communication as Complex Phenomenon in Musical Interpretation – Proposal for a Systemic Model That Promotes a Transdisciplinary Process of Self-Formation and Reflection Around Expressiveness as a Lived Experience

For a long time, expressiveness in musical performance was a question of musical performance and research. It was difficult to explain why musicians arouse aesthetic emotions in their listeners with their interpretation. Even so, was more complex to explain why the performance of the same work by various artists provoked different emotional responses in listeners. Thanks to empirical research, our understanding of this phenomenon has improved. However, these theories and discoveries have not permeated teaching practice, so they have not yet taken a new direction in music teaching. In this paper, we proposed a new approach to expressiveness in musical interpretation in a systemic and complex way. For this, we propose a systemic model that allows us to observe the dynamic behavior of the phenomenon of emotional communication in musical interpretation. Furthermore, we suggest a systemic transdisciplinary didactic proposal to encourage the performer to develop their musical identity, reinforce their sensitivity and creativity, and enrich their expression and participatory intention in interpretation.