IngentaConnect A model of aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic judgments

Authors: Helmut Leder¹; Benno Belke²; Andries Oeberst²; Dorothee Augustin²

Source: British Journal of Psychology, Volume 95, Number 4, November 2004 , pp. 489-508(20)

Publisher: British Psychological Society

Abstract:

Although aesthetic experiences are frequent in modern life, there is as of yet no scientifically comprehensive theory that explains what psychologically constitutes such experiences. These experiences are particularly interesting because of their hedonic properties and the possibility to provide self-rewarding cognitive operations. We shall explain why modern art's large number of individualized styles, innovativeness and conceptuality offer positive aesthetic experiences. Moreover, the challenge of art is mainly driven by a need for understanding. Cognitive challenges of both abstract art and other conceptual, complex and multidimensional stimuli require an extension of previous approaches to empirical aesthetics. We present an information-processing stage model of aesthetic processing. According to the model, aesthetic experiences involve five stages: perception, explicit classification, implicit classification, cognitive mastering and evaluation. The model differentiates between aesthetic emotion and aesthetic judgments as two types of output.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1348/0007126042369811

Affiliations: 1: Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Psychology, Germany; Universität Wien, Austria 2: Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Psychology, Germany

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