Aesthetic Preferences Research Articles

Species abundance as a determinant of aesthetic values of flowering plant communities

Both the conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of ecosystem services are important and fundamental goals in response to the current biodiversity crisis. Cultural ecosystem services – the non-material benefits people derive from their interactions with nature – are an important component of ecosystem services. However, determining the contributions of different components of biodiversity to these benefits has proven more challenging than for other ecosystem services. Here, we determine the relative contributions of diversity (measured as cultivar richness) and abundance (number of individuals) to the aesthetic value of flowering plant communities, using sunflowers as a model organism. We created grassland vegetation plots consisting of different numbers of sunflower cultivars and individuals, presented these treatments to people, and measured their aesthetic preferences (both self-reported and objective behavioural measures) towards them. We found that people’s aesthetic preferences were unrelated to differences in the cultivar richness of the plots but increased substantially with the number of individuals. More importantly, these preference patterns did not differ with a participants’ nature orientation, ecological knowledge, or gender, suggesting the generality of the results. Our findings indicate that the abundance of wildlife can play a crucial role in shaping the cultural services provided by ecosystems. Researchers and policy-makers should therefore pay more attention to the role of abundance in maintaining ecosystem services.

“Even in the most insignificant publication, there must be plan and order”: On natural history as a theme and genre in Danish-Norwegian parish topographies of the late eighte enth century

Like the rest of Scandinavia, Denmark and Norway have a strong tradition of comprehensive topographical descriptions, often written by local clergymen. Physical-economic descriptions of small areas, most often parishes, emerging in the middle of the eighteenth century soon formed a model that remained strikingly uniform until around 1820, when the topographies changed once again. In the Dual Monarchy of Denmark and Norway, the years between 1760 and 1820 revealed a prolific topographic genre in which natural history and natural resources played important parts. Natural history was essential, being regarded as the condition for the composite peasant economy and offering the opportunity to reveal unknown sources of livelihood or intensify the use of those sources. Natural history was not only an aspect of the locality that should be dealt with in the description of the locality, but it became an entire scheme or method for the whole description, in which knowledge took up the form of inventories as did natural history itself. The topographical descriptions give hints as to the sort of observing, collecting, identifying, sorting, and ordering practices that lay behind the text. The concise and neutral form of these topographies did not give much room for the emotionality otherwise considered in the period as both a precondition for and an effect of dealings with natural history, and only rarely, in small gaps, did the sensual and aesthetic preferences of the authors come through, occasionally revealing their doubts but also their love of nature.

How the potential audience of museums perceives art: results of a segmentation study of aesthetic preferences

The increase, diversification and complexity of the museum audience in recent years has become the reason for the development of deeper and more targeted approaches to its study based on interdisciplinary research. The article analyzes the aesthetic preferences of the potential audience of exhibition projects according to the results of sociological segmentation based on a quantitative survey conducted in January 2020 on the mail.ru platform on the social network in VKontakte (audience coverage 73.4 million in 2020) with a sample of 1905 people. The filling of the questionnaire and data analysis were carried out by the authors using an art history approach, and the research methodology and statistical data analysis were prepared on the basis of sociological and marketing approaches. The assimilation of sociology and marketing tools by cultural institutions is interpreted by the authors optimistically, as an opportunity to oppose the negative aspects of the commercialization of art, to form a community of active supporters of cultural institutions, increase knowledge about their preferences, increase efficiency and reduce costs for promoting exhibition projects. The study also resulted in recommendations for marketing and PR promotion of exhibitions for a more accurate audience coverage and better satisfaction of the aesthetic needs of visitors. Accompanying information in the form of leaflets, audio guides, visuals should be offered in the format preferred by the largest segment of the audience. Curators can refer to research results and shape the exposition, taking them into account, but without losing professional quality. Data analysis was carried out using the methodologist of the Foreitor research company, Yu.R. Wolfson.

Aesthetic preference for art can be predicted from a mixture of low- and high-level visual features.

It is an open question whether preferences for visual art can be lawfully predicted from the basic constituent elements of a visual image. Here, we developed and tested a computational framework to investigate how aesthetic values are formed. We show that it is possible to explain human preferences for a visual art piece based on a mixture of low- and high-level features of the image. Subjective value ratings could be predicted not only within but also across individuals, using a regression model with a common set of interpretable features. We also show that the features predicting aesthetic preference can emerge hierarchically within a deep convolutional neural network trained only for object recognition. Our findings suggest that human preferences for art can be explained at least in part as a systematic integration over the underlying visual features of an image.

Beauty is in the eye of the machine.

Ansel Adams said, “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” Is it possible to predict our fickle and subjective appraisal of ‘aesthetically pleasing’ visual art? Iigaya et al. used an artificial intelligence approach to show how human aesthetic preference can be partially explained as an integration of hierarchical constituent image features.

Digital Smile Design : Predictable Results

Increasing aesthetic preferences and technological changes in dentistry have been planned towards time, resulting in predictable, more aesthetic and more functional results. Firstly, the development of digital dentistry, especially the CAD/CAM systems, following these developments, the ability to make smile designs with the effect of digitalization in anterior restorations led to the emergence of reliable and more guaranteed restorations for both the patient, dentist and dental technician. This review summarizes the information and offers suggestions with features to be considered in digital smile design and digital smile design softwares.

Memorisation and implicit perceptual learning are enhanced for preferred musical intervals and chords

Is it true that we learn better what we like? Current neuroaesthetic and neurocomputational models of aesthetic appreciation postulate the existence of a correlation between aesthetic appreciation and learning. However, even though aesthetic appreciation has been associated with attentional enhancements, systematic evidence demonstrating its influence on learning processes is still lacking. Here, in two experiments, we investigated the relationship between aesthetic preferences for consonance versus dissonance and the memorisation of musical intervals and chords. In Experiment 1, 60 participants were first asked to memorise and evaluate arpeggiated triad chords (memorisation phase), then, following a distraction task, chords’ memorisation accuracy was measured (recognition phase). Memorisation resulted to be significantly enhanced for subjectively preferred as compared with non-preferred chords. To explore the possible neural mechanisms underlying these results, we performed an EEG study, directed to investigate implicit perceptual learning dynamics (Experiment 2). Through an auditory mismatch detection paradigm, electrophysiological responses to standard/deviant intervals were recorded, while participants were asked to evaluate the beauty of the intervals. We found a significant trial-by-trial correlation between subjective aesthetic judgements and single trial amplitude fluctuations of the ERP attention-related N1 component. Moreover, implicit perceptual learning, expressed by larger mismatch detection responses, was enhanced for more appreciated intervals. Altogether, our results showed the existence of a relationship between aesthetic appreciation and implicit learning dynamics as well as higher-order learning processes, such as memorisation. This finding might suggest possible future applications in different research domains such as teaching and rehabilitation of memory and attentional deficits.

TRAGIC NOISE AND RHETORICAL FRIGIDITY IN LYCOPHRON'SALEXANDRA

AbstractThis paper seeks to shed fresh light on the aesthetic and stylistic affiliations of Lycophron'sAlexandra, approaching the poem from two distinct but complementary angles. First, it explores what can be gained by reading Lycophron's poem against the backdrop of Callimachus’ poetry. It contends that theAlexandrapresents a radical and polemical departure from the Alexandrian's poetic programme, pointedly appropriating key Callimachean images while also countering Callimachus’ apparent dismissal of the ‘noisy’ tragic genre. Previous scholarship has noted links between the openings of theAetiaand of theAlexandra, but this article demonstrates that this relationship is only one part of a larger aesthetic divide between the two poets: by embracing the raucous acoustics of tragedy, Lycophron's poem offers a self-conscious and agonistic departure from Callimachus’ aesthetic preferences. Second, this article considers another way of conceiving the aesthetics of the poem beyond a Callimachean frame, highlighting how Lycophron pointedly engages with and evokes earlier Aristotelian literary criticism concerning the ‘frigid’ style: theAlexandraconstructs its own independent literary history centred around the alleged name of its author, ‘Lycophron’. The article proposes that this traditional attribution is best understood as a pen name that signposts the poem's stylistic affiliations, aligning it not so much with the Ptolemaic playwright Lycophron of Chalcis but rather with Lycophron the sophist and a larger rhetorical tradition of stylistic frigidity. Ultimately, through these two approaches, the article highlights further aspects of theAlexandra's aesthetic diversity.

“Kneweth one who makes these notes . . .”: Personality, individual differences, and liking of nouveau roman and existentialist literature and film.

Previous studies suggest that personality and individual difference traits are associated with aesthetic preferences, but have infrequently examined associations within specific genres or across media domains. We examined associations between the Big Five personality traits with preferences (i.e., liking) for two non-conventional genres of film and literature, namely nouveau roman and existentialism, in samples of 548 non-experts and 95 genre experts from Austria. Path analyses indicated that Openness to Experience (positively) and Conscientiousness (negatively) were significantly associated with greater liking of stimuli across genres and media domains, after considering the effects of additional, relevant variables (aesthetic expertise and behaviours, social status, and the motive for sensory pleasure). Path models were stable across non-experts and experts, although the strength of the relationships between Openness and liking was stronger for nouveau roman stimuli. Additional analyses indicated that experts had significantly greater liking for stimuli across both genres than non-experts. These results may have implications for the promotion of non-conventional artworks to wider audiences.

Understanding ADHD: Toward an Innovative Therapeutic Intervention.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a pervasive condition affecting persons across all age groups, although it is primarily diagnosed in children. This neurological condition affects behavior, learning, and social adjustment and requires specific symptomatic criteria to be fulfilled for diagnosis. ADHD may be treated with a combination of psychological or psychiatric therapeutic interventions, but it often goes unattended. People with ADHD face societal bias challenges that impact how they manage the disorder and how they view themselves. This paper summarizes the present state of understanding of this disorder, with particular attention to early diagnosis and innovative therapeutic intervention. Contemporary understanding of the mind–brain duality allows for innovative therapeutic interventions based on neurological stimulation. This paper introduces the concept of neurostimulation as a therapeutic intervention for ADHD and poses the question of the relationship between patient adherence to self-administered therapy and the aesthetic design features of the neurostimulation device. By fabricating devices that go beyond safety and efficacy to embrace the aesthetic preferences of the patient, it is proposed that there will be improvements in patient adherence to a device intended to address ADHD.

The Valuation of Aesthetic Preferences and Consequences for Urban Transport Infrastructures

The importance of transport infrastructure for individual well-being and regional economic development and growth, but also its adverse side-effects, make a comprehensive assessment of the general appropriateness of new construction and rebuild indispensable. Assessments, however, often lack certain issues. For instance, aesthetic aspects are usually not part of the (economic) evaluation of large infrastructure projects, albeit individuals may be (positively or negatively) affected by the aesthetic ‘value’ of infrastructures. This paper proposes the aesthetic index developed by Birkhoff as a method to quantify the aesthetic impact of buildings/facilities in urban areas. To test the basic applicability of the index for transport infrastructure facilities, we apply it at first to airport terminals in Germany. We also test the suitability of the index to derive the willingness to pay for aesthetic exterior design—since market prices are easy to obtain with respect to hotel room rates—using hotel architecture as the first example. Regression results of a hedonic price model indicate a significant relationship, suggesting the basic suitability of the index to uncover consumers’ willingness to pay for an aesthetic outward appearance. We suggest further research to test the suitability of Birkhoff’s index for general urban transport infrastructures in order to derive utility-based welfare measures toward aesthetic issues. For highly controversial urban (overground) infrastructures, we propose the inclusion of an aesthetic component in cost–benefit analysis.

Evaluation of the color aesthetics of fine wood based on perceptual cognition

In order to study the aesthetic preferences of individuals in terms of wood color, the authors explored the preference for red sandalwood and wenge wood of different hues and lightness values through a combination of an eye movement technique and subjective evaluation. The experimental results showed that: (1) sex factors had a significant effect on the eye movement indexes in a modern aesthetic preference experiment; (2) the preferences of the subjects varied slightly with different wood types but in a lower range; and (3) the effective eye movement indexes in this study were fixation duration, number of fixations, and number of last-sampling positions; in addition, there were differences in the effective eye movement indicators in different experiments. The subjects preferred a low lightness value or color of the chair.

Parametric Cortical Representations of Complexity and Preference for Artistic and Computer-Generated Fractal Patterns Revealed by Single-Trial EEG Power Spectral Analysis

Fractals are self-similar patterns that repeat at different scales, the complexity of which are expressed as a fractional Euclidean dimension D between 0 (a point) and 2 (a filled plane). The drip paintings of American painter Jackson Pollock (JP) are fractal in nature, and Pollock's most illustrious works are of the high-D (~1.7) category. This would imply that people prefer more complex fractal patterns, but some research has instead suggested people prefer lower-D fractals. Furthermore, research has suggested that parietal and frontal brain activity tracks the complexity of fractal patterns, but previous research has artificially binned fractals depending on fractal dimension, rather than treating fractal dimension as a parametrically varying value. We used white layers extracted from JP artwork as stimuli, and constructed statistically matched 2-dimensional random Cantor sets as control stimuli. We recorded the electroencephalogram (EEG) while participants viewed the JP and matched random Cantor fractal patterns. Participants then rated their subjective preference for each pattern. We used a single-trial analysis to construct within-subject models relating subjective preference to fractal dimension D, as well as relating D and subjective preference to single-trial EEG power spectra. Results indicated that participants preferred higher-D images for both JP and Cantor stimuli. Power spectral analysis showed that, for artistic fractal images, parietal alpha and beta power parametrically tracked complexity of fractal patterns, while for matched mathematical fractals, parietal power tracked complexity of patterns over a range of frequencies, but most prominently in alpha band. Furthermore, parietal alpha power parametrically tracked aesthetic preference for both artistic and matched Cantor patterns. Overall, our results suggest that perception of complexity for artistic and computer-generated fractal images is reflected in parietal-occipital alpha and beta activity, and neural substrates of preference for complex stimuli are reflected in parietal alpha band activity.

Computational model for predicting user aesthetic preference for GUI using DCNNs

Visual aesthetics is vital in determining the usability of the graphical user interface (GUI). It can strengthen the competitiveness of interactive online applications. Human aesthetic preferences for GUI are implicit and linked to various aspects of perception. In this study, an aesthetic GUI image database was constructed with 38,423 design works collected from Huaban.com, a popular social network website for art and design sharing, collection, and exhibition in China. The numbers of user collection and likes of each design work were used as the annotation to represent user preference levels. Deep convolutional neural networks were applied to evaluate the aesthetic preferences of GUIs, based on a large dataset of user interface design images with the ground-truth annotations. The experimental result indicated the feasibility of the proposed method, with a mean squared error (MSE) of 0.0222 for user collection prediction and an MSE of 0.0644 for user likes prediction in the best model performance of Squeeze-and-Excitation-VGG19 networks (SE-VGG19). This study aims to build a large aesthetic image database, and to explore a practical and objective evaluation model of GUI aesthetics.

Evaluations of the facial attractiveness of young women with severe maxillary anterior crowding by orthodontists and laypeople with and without orthodontic treatment experience in Japan

Maxillary anterior crowding (MxAC) has been considered to be an esthetically favorable characteristic of young women in Japan. It has been hypothesized that laypeople and orthodontists have different esthetic preferences; however, to date, this has not been investigated in detail. Therefore, the present study compared the facial attractiveness of women with MxAC and the interpretation of MxAC among orthodontists and laypeople with and without orthodontic treatment experience in Japan. Thirty-eight orthodontists, 42 laypeople with orthodontics (patients), and 43 laypeople without orthodontics (laypeople) evaluated the attractiveness of resting and smiling frontal images of 12 women with MxAC (MxAC models; mean age, 21.7±2.6years) and 12 women with normal occlusion (normal models; mean age, 20.1±0.7years) using a visual analog scale. In addition, they responded to a questionnaire that asked them to select the terms most closely associated with MxAC. All evaluators and models were Japanese. For all evaluator groups, the facial attractiveness of the MxAC models was significantly lower than that of the normal models for both the resting and smiling images. For MxAC models, orthodontists evaluated resting images more attractive than smiling images, whereas laypeople evaluated smiling images more attractive than resting images. Significantly more patients and laypeople than orthodontists selected "cute" as the term most closely associated with MxAC (P<0.05). The orthodontists, patients, and laypeople showed a different tendency in their facial attractiveness preferences. Regardless of their orthodontic experience, the laypeople showed more positive interpretations of MxAC than orthodontists. This finding seems to be influenced by Japanese culture, which values irregularity in nature as one form of beauty.

What does the UK public want farmland to look like?

As populations grow and demand for food rises, major shifts in global agri-food policy are likely to significantly impact agricultural land use. As the UK has now separated from the Common Agricultural Policy as it left the EU, Brexit offers a unique opportunity to create UK-specific agricultural policies that may dramatically shape both the countryside’s appearance and the ecosystem services it provides. However, it is important to understand how the public – as taxpayers of agri-environment schemes – want the farmed countryside to look. To fill this knowledge gap, we undertook a novel mixed-methods study using a survey and collage-making workshops to understand aesthetic preferences for perceived “ideal” and “environmentally friendly” farm landscapes. Multinomial regression of data from a nationally representative survey of 2050 respondents demonstrated widespread support for agricultural landscapes containing trees and free-ranging livestock for ideal UK farm landscapes. Aesthetic preferences differed based on several socio-demographic variables, including gender, income and education. Landscapes with renewable energy technology, trees, and no livestock were perceived to be the most “environmentally friendly” farms, though wind turbines were visually unappealing. Eighty participants created collages of their ideal and environmentally friendly farming landscapes and completed a short survey to explain their choices. Qualitative thematic analysis of the collages and explanatory text found a desire for mosaic ideal farm landscapes focused either on agricultural or wild biological diversity. Results for the environmentally friendly farms reflected those in the survey. We discuss how our findings relate to implications for post-Brexit agricultural policy formation, particularly with regards to integrating public preferences around agri-food systems, to ensure tax-payers’ views are considered.

Dental trauma splint color preference of adults.

The prevalence of dental trauma among children and adults is high. Most luxated teeth need splinting. The Titanium Trauma Splint (TTS) is a widely used appliance with good performance properties. Esthetics is increasingly important for most patients. Splints placed on the front teeth have a clearly visible impact on patients' appearance and, thus, on their quality of life during splint therapy. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the esthetic preferences of adult patients with regard to different splint color and surface finish characteristics. TTS appliances were fabricated in four different colors (silver, gold, green and violet) and two different surface finishes (matt or polished) to yield a total of eight variants. The finished splints were applied to the teeth of a human model, photographed by a professional photographer, and printed as posters. Adults aged between 18 and 79 years were asked to complete a written survey containing items regarding their TTS color and surface preferences based on the posters with photographs as well as questions about previous tooth bleaching treatments, the importance of having esthetic teeth in general, and the prioritization of esthetic versus function-driven dentistry. Over 80% of participants preferred the silver matt splint over the other variants. Neither gender nor age nor other parameters had a significant influence on the choice of splint color or surface. Women placed greater importance on esthetic rather than function-driven treatment.

Breast Aesthetic Preferences: Analysis of 1294 Surveys.

Aesthetic breast perceptions could be variable among cultures. Fullness, superior/inferior pole proportion and orientation and size of the nipple areolar complex are key elements in patient post-operative satisfaction andshould be considered when planning breast aesthetic surgery. A descriptive study was designed, using an online survey, sent via social media. Standardized software modified images of breasts with different pole proportions, areolar nipple complex orientation and size were used. From 1294 surveys collected, 1291 were analysed (969 women and 322 men). Significant differences in preferences of upper/lower pole breast proportions were found among groups of different age, gender, level of education and previous history of breast surgery. In the studied population, we found several variations in aesthetic breast preferences related to their demographic characteristics and for this reason we believe that this research may serve as a "macro" guide for both patient and surgeon in primary and secondary breast surgery. To our knowledge, this is the largest survey study concerning breast aesthetic preferences done in Colombia and second largest in the world. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these evidence-based medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

The center cannot hold: Variations of frame width help to explain the "inward bias" in aesthetic preferences.

Although most visual aesthetic preferences are likely driven by a mix of personal, historical, and cultural factors, there are exceptions: some may be driven by adaptive mechanisms of visual processing, and so may be relatively consistent across people, contexts, and time. An especially powerful example is the "inward bias": when a framed image contains a figure (e.g., a face in profile), people prefer arrangements in which the figure faces inward. Although the inward bias has been studied in many contexts, its underlying nature remains unclear. It may be a function of an image's center (as in the "affordance-space" account, in which people prefer to center the implied functional extensions of objects), or it may be a function of the frame's borders (as in the "looking-into-the-future" account, in which people dislike perspectives on scenes that won't allow them to witness predicted future actions). Here we directly contrast these possibilities using a simple novel manipulation. Observers placed a face (in profile) in a frame to maximize the image's aesthetic appeal, and across observers we varied the frame's aspect ratio. We observed a powerful inward bias, and across frame widths observers preferred an approximately constant positive ratio of space in front versus behind the face. This suggests that the inward bias is driven primarily not by the image's center, but by the frame's borders - and it is consistent with the possibility that certain regions of empty space are prioritized because they are where future actions are predicted to occur.

Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States

Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States