Advances in experimental aesthetics
Subtitle
An analysis of evaluative aesthetic and descriptive symmetry judgment processes using event-related brain potentials
Publication date
2001
Document type
Konferenzbeitrag
Author
Höfel, Lea
Organisational unit
Universität Leipzig, Institut für Allgemeine Psychologie
ISBN
Conference
17th annual meeting of the International Society for Psychophysics ; Leipzig, Germany ; October 20–23, 2001
Book title
Fechner Day 2001 : proceedings of the seventeenth annual meeting of the International Society for Psychophysics, University Leipzig, Germany 20 - 23 October 2001
First page
432
Last page
437
Part of the university bibliography
Nein
Abstract
We report an event-related brain potential (ERP) study comparing descriptive (symmetry) and evaluative (aesthetic) judgments. Physically identical stimuli were used for both judgment types in order to control for perceptual processes. Participants viewed novel symmetrical and asymmetrical two-dimensional patterns in a two-alternative forced-choice task setting. Aesthetic judgments ("beautiful" / "not beautiful") and symmetry judgments ("symmetric" / "not symmetric") were precued in a mixed design. Detailed paramorphic models of the individual judges' cognitive systems as well as a group model were derived using multiple regression analyses of behavioral data. The symmetry feature of the stimuli and aesthetic judgments were strongly correlated for all participants and descriptive judgments were performed faster than evaluative judgments. The event-related potentials revealed a phasic frontal negativity for the "not beautiful" judgments as compared to the other judgments in the 300 to 400 millisecond time range. This deflection reflected early evaluative processes. A sustained posterior negativity for the "symmetric" judgments relative to the other judgments in the time range between 600 and 1100 milliseconds reflected processes of the visual analysis of symmetry. All four conditions showed late positive potentials (LPP). Evaluative judgment LPPs revealed a more pronounced right lateralization. In summary, although correlated behaviorally, descriptive symmetry judgment and evaluative aesthetic judgment processes differ qualitatively and recruit, at least in part, distinct neural machinery.
Version
Published version
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