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

Abstract

Which factors can predict aesthetic preferences for images of neatly organized compositions, collected on blogs like Things Organized Neatly© (http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/)? We focused on stimulus and person properties related to order, complexity, and the balance between order and complexity. Participants (N = 415) indicated their preference for one of two simultaneously presented images (100 pairs) and completed some personality questionnaires. In a second, optional part of the study, participants (N = 84) rated how ordered, complex, soothing, and fascinating they perceived each of 184 images to be. In pairs of neatly organized images, preferences related to differences in soothingness and fascination ratings between the images in a pair. Additionally, soothingness and fascination ratings of the images showed differential relations with ratings of order and complexity. Fascination ratings of the images related positively with measures of order and complexity, whereas soothingness ratings related positively with order and negatively with complexity measures. Besides the main data collected in a Western context, new data collected in a Chinese context will also be presented.

Date
May 10, 2018
Location
Amsterdam, The Netherlands