Physiological correlates of aesthetic perception in a museum.

Tschacher, Wolfgang; Greenwood, Steven; Kirchberg, Volker; Wintzerith, Stéphanie; Van den Berg

Arts experts are commonly skeptical of applying scientific methods to aesthetic experiencing, which remains a field of study predominantly for the humanities. Laboratory research has however indicated that artworks may elicit emotional and physiological responses. Yet, this line of aesthetics research has previously suffered from insufficient external validity. We therefore conducted a study in which aesthetic perception was monitored in a fine-art museum, unrestricting to the viewers' freedom of aesthetic choice. Visitors were invited to wear electronic gloves through which their locomotion, heart rate and skin conductance were continuously recorded. Emotional and aesthetic responses to selected works of an exhibition were assessed using a customized questionnaire. In a sample of 373 adult participants, we found that physiological responses during perception of an artwork were significantly related to aesthetic-emotional experiencing. The dimensions 'Aesthetic Quality', 'Surprise/Humor', 'Dominance' and 'Curatorial Quality' were associated with cardiac measures (heart rate variability, heart rate level) and skin conductance variability. This is first evidence that aesthetics can be statistically grounded in viewers' physiology in an ecologically valid environment, the art gallery, enhancing our understanding of the effects of artworks and their curatorial staging.

2012

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Applied Fine Performing Arts - HGK - Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst FHNW, Basel - Institut Integrative Gestaltung IIG Applied Fine Performing Arts - HGK - Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst FHNW, Basel Applied Fine Performing Arts catalog - mediathek catalog - network catalog - Artists catalog - HGK catalog - HGKplus

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AccessDate: 2021-04-14T12:54:36Z
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023845
DateAdded: 2021-04-14T12:54:36Z
DateModified: 2021-07-22T13:06:16Z
Issue: 1
Key: XA8FQWPQ
Language: de
Pages: 96-103
PublicationTitle: Journal of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Rights: Closed
Volume: 6

- Applied Fine Performing Arts

Physiological correlates of aesthetic perception in a museum.

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Physiological correlates of aesthetic perception in a museum.

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