Recent & Upcoming Talks

2024

ECVP 2024 - A hierarchical efficient Bayesian observer model predicts attractive and repulsive history effects in multistable perception

In multistable dot lattices, the orientation we perceive is attracted towards the orientation we perceived in the immediately preceding …
Aug 26, 2024 Aberdeen, Scotland
Eline Van Geert, Tina Ivančir, & Johan Wagemans
Project

ECVP 2024 - Creating reproducible multi-element displays for your perception research using OCTA [workshop]

The Order & Complexity Toolbox for Aesthetics (OCTA; Van Geert, Bossens, & Wagemans, 2023) is an open-source Python toolbox and …
Aug 25, 2024 12:30 Aberdeen, Scotland
Eline Van Geert
Project

VSAC 2024 - Aesthetics and good Gestalt: How interacting tendencies in perceptual organization can inspire new insights in aesthetic appreciation

The relation between goodness of organization (i.e., good Gestalt) and aesthetic appreciation is a long-lived one. Several important …
Aug 24, 2024 13:30 Aberdeen, Scotland
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project

CogSci 2024 - Using Gibbs Sampling with People to characterize perceptual and aesthetic evaluations in multidimensional visual stimulus space

Aesthetic appreciation is inherently multidimensional: many different stimulus dimensions (e.g., colors, shapes, sizes) contribute to …
Jul 27, 2024 10:30 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Eline Van Geert & Nori Jacoby
Project Postprint Proceedings

IAEA 2024 - Aesthetic ratings of homogeneous and heterogeneous sets of stimuli.

Studies in empirical aesthetics vary largely in the kind of stimuli they use, while trying to make general claims about the effects of …
May 10, 2024 14:30 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Johan Wagemans, Eline Van Geert, & Claudia Damiano

IAEA 2024 - Creating reproducible stimuli for your visual aesthetics research using OCTA [workshop]

The Order & Complexity Toolbox for Aesthetics (OCTA) is a recently developed, freely available open-source Python toolbox and …
May 9, 2024 16:00 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Eline Van Geert
Project Slides Materials

IAEA 2024 - Characterizing the interrelations between order, complexity, and appreciation in multidimensional controlled stimulus spaces.

Which visual displays do we aesthetically appreciate, and why? Order and complexity have often been suggested as important factors …
May 9, 2024 10:30 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Eline Van Geert, Nori Jacoby, & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

2023

Beauty & Change 2023 - 'Perception is artistic': How interacting tendencies in perceptual organization foster our aesthetic experience

To aesthetically appreciate a stimulus, we first need to perceive it. The principles underlying perceptual organization could therefore …
Nov 2, 2023 10:30 Turin, Italy
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Slides

VSS 2023 - A Bayesian efficient observer model to explain attractive and repulsive temporal context effects when perceiving multistable dot lattices

In multistable dot lattices, the orientation we perceive is attracted towards the orientation we perceived in the immediately preceding …
May 23, 2023 08:30 Banyan Breezeway, TradeWinds Island Grand, St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA
Eline Van Geert, Tina Ivančir, & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

ICPS 2023 - Pre-existing categorization diminishes attractive and repulsive temporal history effects on perception

In a study assessing perceptual categorization of shapes, we investigated effects of the category evidence and perceived category for …
Mar 9, 2023 Brussels, Belgium
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Slides

2022

SDWVM 2022 - Stable individual differences in hysteresis and adaptation: Evidence for differential use of stimulus history and perceptual history when perceiving multistable dot lattices

How we perceptually organize a visual stimulus depends not only on the stimulus itself, but also on the temporal context in which the …
Dec 14, 2022 20:00 online
Eline Van Geert, Pieter Moors, Julia Haaf, & Johan Wagemans
Project Postprint

ECVP 2022 - Stable individual differences in hysteresis and adaptation: Evidence for differential use of stimulus history and perceptual history when perceiving multistable dot lattices

How we perceptually organize a visual stimulus depends not only on the stimulus itself, but also on the temporal context in which the …
Aug 29, 2022 10:15 Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Eline Van Geert, Pieter Moors, Julia Haaf, & Johan Wagemans
Project Postprint Slides Slides PDF Recording

BAPS 2022 - Shape variation in proximity grouping: An individual differences approach

Over the last decades, vision research has seen a renewed interest in Gestalt psychology and perceptual organization. One of the …
Jun 3, 2022 Leuven, Belgium
Elisabeth Van der Hulst, Eline Van Geert, & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

TeaP 2022 - Disentangling individuals’ aesthetic preferences for order and complexity: A parametric, multidimensional approach

Which visual displays do we aesthetically appreciate, and why? Order and complexity have often been suggested as important factors …
Mar 21, 2022 online
Eline Van Geert, Daniel Hofmann, Astrid Warny, & Johan Wagemans
Project Slides Slides PDF

TeaP 2022 - Art forms in nature: perceptual and aesthetic properties of Ernst Haeckel's drawings of new species

Most research in empirical aesthetics belongs to one of two camps: (1) focus on the relation between beauty and simple quantitative …
Mar 21, 2022 online
Johan Wagemans, Ines De Vlieghe, Christophe Bossens, Derya Soydaner, Claudia Damiano, & Eline Van Geert

2021

PSYNOM 2021 - Drawing for communication: Simplification and complication as contextually dependent adaptive strategies

The Gestalt psychologists posited that we will always organize our visual input in the best way possible. Both the removal of …
Nov 5, 2021 online
Eline Van Geert, Liesse Frérart, & Johan Wagemans
Project Slides PDF Recording

CPC 2021 - The OCTA toolbox as a new tool to create reproducible and adaptable stimuli to study configural processing

Originally created for aesthetics research, the newly developed Order & Complexity Toolbox for Aesthetics (OCTA) allows for the …
Nov 1, 2021 online
Eline Van Geert, Christophe Bossens, & Johan Wagemans
Project Slides Slides PDF OCTA Python toolbox OCTA Shiny app OCTA mailing list

CPC 2021 - Shape variation in proximity grouping: An individual differences approach

In 1995, Kubovy and Wagemans demonstrated that the probability of grouping elements can be quantified as a decreasing exponential …
Nov 1, 2021 online
Elisabeth Van der Hulst, Eline Van Geert, & Johan Wagemans
Project Slides PDF

DigiSoc 2021 - The development of the OCTA toolbox: An accessible, open-source tool to create flexible and reproducible visual displays

Originally created for research on aesthetic appreciation, the newly developed Order & Complexity Toolbox for Aesthetics (OCTA) …
Oct 26, 2021 11:00 Leuven
Eline Van Geert, Christophe Bossens, & Johan Wagemans
Project Interactive poster Poster PDF Short poster tour OCTA Python toolbox OCTA Shiny app OCTA mailing list

IAEA 2021 - Creating OCTA, the Order & Complexity Toolbox for Aesthetics

Do individuals prefer stimuli that are ordered, complex, or striking the right balance between order and complexity? Earlier research …
Sep 1, 2021 online
Eline Van Geert, Christophe Bossens, & Johan Wagemans
Project Slides Slides PDF OCTA Python toolbox OCTA Shiny app OCTA mailing list

ECVP 2021 - The OCTA Toolbox: A new tool to create flexible and reproducible stimuli for studying perception and appreciation

Originally created for aesthetics research, the newly developed Order & Complexity Toolbox for Aesthetics (OCTA) allows for the …
Aug 26, 2021 11:00 online
Eline Van Geert, Christophe Bossens, & Johan Wagemans
Project Interactive poster Poster PDF OCTA Python toolbox OCTA Shiny app OCTA mailing list

ECVP 2021 - Shape variation in proximity grouping: An individual approach

In 1995, Kubovy and Wagemans performed a ground-breaking study within perceptual organization, revealing that the probability of …
Aug 26, 2021 11:00 online
Elisabeth Van der Hulst, Eline Van Geert, & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

BAPS 2021 - Towards the most prägnant Gestalt: Contextual influences on simplification and complication tendencies

The Law of Prägnanz states that each organizational process will always be as ‘good’ as the prevailing conditions allow. Good …
May 28, 2021 online
Liesse Frérart, Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

BAPS 2021 - Individual differences in visual working memory and their relation to the perception and appreciation of order and complexity

It has been hypothesized by many researchers that aesthetic appreciation is not only based on stimulus properties or individual …
May 28, 2021 online
Daniel Hofmann, Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

BAPS 2021 - Individual differences in the use of perceptual history in the visual categorization of abstract shapes

How we perceive a visual form is not only dependent on aspects of the shape that is currently presented, but also on the temporal …
May 28, 2021 online
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Presentation

BAPS 2021 - Bayesian modeling of hysteresis and adaptation in visual perception

Several studies of serial dependence in visual perception presented evidence for the existence of hysteresis and adaptation effects …
May 28, 2021 online
Tina Ivančir, Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

BAPS 2021 - A systematic approach to study the relations between order, complexity, and aesthetic appreciation

The relations of order, complexity, and their balance with aesthetic appreciation have been an interest of inquiry for centuries. The …
May 28, 2021 online
Astrid Warny, Eline Van Geert, Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

VSS 2021 - Individual differences in attractive and repulsive context effects on shape categorization

How we perceive a visual form not only depends on the currently presented shape, but also on the temporal context in which it is shown. …
May 23, 2021 online
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster Video tour

ReproducibiliTea Leuven journal club: A place for interdisciplinary discussion on improving science

Started as a small journal club initiative at the University of Oxford, ReproducibiliTea (https://reproducibilitea.org/) is now an …
May 3, 2021 online
ReproducibiliTeam Leuven: Lennert Coenen, Olivia Kirtley, Aline Claesen, Eline Van Geert, Natalie Schroyens, & Stien Van De Plas
Project Presentation Presentation PDF

A reproducible PhD: Adventures in open science and reproducible reporting.

Finding your way in the ever-increasing landscape of responsible research practices is not an easy task. Getting acquainted with open …
May 3, 2021 online
Eline Van Geert
Project Presentation Presentation PDF

Gestalt Speaker Series - What does Prägnanz mean and why should we care?

Koffka (1935) presented the law of Prägnanz as the main principle to guide research on perceptual organization. This law states that …
Apr 9, 2021 online
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Presentation Recording

2020

PPP 2020 - Prägnanz in visual perception

Overview of my PhD project plans at the time.
Jan 28, 2020 Leuven, Belgium
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

2019

ECVP 2019 - Hysteresis and adaptation in perceptual categorization, discrimination, and similarity judgment tasks

How we perceive a visual stimulus or the difference between two sequentially presented stimuli does not only depend on aspects of the …
Aug 26, 2019 Leuven, Belgium
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

VSAC 2019 - Aesthetic preferences for neatly organized compositions in Dutch- and Chinese-speaking samples: A cross-cultural comparison.

Do aesthetic preferences for images of neatly organized compositions – images as collected on blogs like Things Organized Neatly© – …
Aug 22, 2019 Leuven, Belgium
Eline Van Geert, Rong Ding, & Johan Wagemans
Project Presentation

SIPS 2019 - Individual differences in visual perception: Attractive and repulsive context effects

How we perceive a visual stimulus depends not only on the stimulus itself, but also on the individual in question and the context in …
Jul 8, 2019 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

ICPS 2019 - Aesthetic preferences for neatly organized compositions: A cross-cultural comparison

Although both Dutch-speaking and Chinese-speaking participants preferred images scoring high on soothingness and order, Chinese-speaking participants showed an additional preference for simplicity and Dutch-speaking participants one for fascination. The results suggest a cross-culturally consistent relationship between order and aesthetic appreciation, but a cross-culturally diverse link between complexity and appreciation.
Mar 9, 2019 Paris, France
Eline Van Geert, Rong Ding, & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

2018

Perception Day 2018 - How to explain the category boundary effect? Reference points and sensitivity to change

In categorical perception research, the category boundary effect is a well-known phenomenon: Keeping physical distance equal, …
Dec 7, 2018 Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

CiNaPS 2018 - Causality in a Prägnanz perspective on visual perception

“Why do things look as they do?” (Koffka, 1935, p.75). The law of Prägnanz gives a hypothetical, abstract explanation: “[…] …
Sep 19, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Presentation

ECVP 2018 - A Prägnanz framework of perception

The law of Prägnanz states that “psychological organization will always be as ‘good’ as the prevailing conditions allow” (Koffka, 1935, …
Aug 28, 2018 Trieste, Italy
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

VSAC 2018 - Aesthetics and good Gestalt: a close but complex relationship?

The relation between good Gestalt and aesthetic appreciation is a long-lived one. Koffka (1935), for example, already noted that …
Aug 25, 2018 Trieste, Italy
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

BAPS 2018 - Psychological organization: What, why, and how?

The law of Prägnanz states that “[…] psychological organization will always be as “good” as the prevailing conditions allow” (Koffka, …
May 18, 2018 Ghent, Belgium
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

IMPS 2018 - Order, complexity, and aesthetic preferences for neatly organized compositions.

Which factors can predict aesthetic preferences for images of neatly organized compositions, collected on blogs like Things Organized …
May 10, 2018 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

2017

ECVP 2017 - Objective and subjective complexity-related measures and preferences for neatly organized compositions.

Which factors can predict aesthetic preferences for images of neatly organized compositions, collected on blogs like Things Organized …
Aug 31, 2017 Berlin, Germany
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

VSAC 2017 - Both stimulus and person contribute to preferences for neatly organized compositions.

Why do many people like images of neatly organized compositions, collected on blogs like Things Organized Neatly© ( …
Aug 25, 2017 Berlin, Germany
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster

BAPS 2017 - Order, complexity, and personality contribute to preferences for neatly organized compositions.

Which factors can predict aesthetic preferences for images of neatly organized compositions, collected on blogs like ‘Things …
May 31, 2017 Brussels, Belgium
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Presentation

2016

BAPS 2016 - Factors contributing to the attractiveness of neatly organized compositions.

Neatly organized compositions seem to have an attractive power on a lot of people. The popularity of images collected on blogs like …
May 24, 2016 Antwerp, Belgium
Eline Van Geert & Johan Wagemans
Project Poster