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In his seminal book on esthetics, Berlyne (1971) posited an inverted-U relationship between complexity and hedonic tone in arts appreciation, however, converging evidence for his theory is still missing. The disregard of the multidimensionality of complexity may explain some of the divergent results. Here, we argue that definitions of hedonic tone are manifold and systematically examined whether the nature of the relationship between complexity and hedonic tone is determined by the specific measure of hedonic tone. In Experiment 1, we studied three picture categories with similar affective and semantic contents: 96 affective environmental scenes, which were also converted into 96 cartoons, and 96 representational paintings. Complexity varied along the dimension of elements. In a between-subjects design, each stimulus was presented for 5 s to 206 female participants. Subjective ratings of hedonic tone (either beauty, pleasantness or liking), arousal, complexity and familiarity were collected in three conditions per stimulus set. Complexity and arousal were positively associated in all conditions, with the strongest association observed for paintings. For environmental scenes and cartoons, there was no significant association between complexity and hedonic tone, and the three measures of hedonic tone were highly correlated (all > 0.85). As predicted, in paintings the measures of hedonic tone were less strongly correlated (all > 0.73), and when controlling for familiarity, the association with complexity was significantly positive for beauty ( = 0.26), weakly negative for pleasantness ( = -0.16) and not present for liking. Experiment 2 followed a similar approach and 77 female participants, all non-musicians, rated 92 musical excerpts (15 s) in three conditions of hedonic tone (either beauty, pleasantness or liking). Results indicated a strong relationship between complexity and arousal (all > 0.85). When controlling for familiarity effects, the relationship between complexity and beauty followed an inverted-U curve, whereas the relationship between complexity and pleasantness was negative ( = -0.26) and the one between complexity and liking positive ( = 0.29). We relate our results to Berlyne's theory and the latest findings in neuroaesthetics, proposing that future studies need to acknowledge the multifaceted nature of hedonic tone in esthetic experiences of artforms.

This paper reflects upon the affective dimension of the experience of reading fiction and poetry. I argue that the space of the imagination allows the approach of literary texts by means of sensations and emotions. Therefore, I formulate a concept of presence suitable for thinking about literary experiences, in which the reader’s body is mobilized by effects triggered by the text when in contact with his imagery.

Although gamification in the workplace is burgeoning, organizations frequently have difficulty sustaining user engagement with a gamified information system (IS). The focus of this study is how a gamified IS in the workplace engages users and encourages them to continue system use. By proposing the concepts of flow experience (FE) and aesthetic experience (AE) as different ways to provide deep and meaningful user engagement, this study develops a model that explores the antecedents of FE and AE and their roles in explaining an individual's continuance intention to use of a gamified IS. The model is tested using data collected from 178 users of a gamified IS in a global consulting company. The results demonstrate that although FE and AE are complementary forces, AE is more salient than FE for explaining continuance intention. The research proposes AE as a parsimonious yet powerful construct that extends the research on user engagement. The findings contribute to research on gamification by shifting scholarly attention from deep engagement characterized by FE to meaningful engagement characterized by AE.

The last decade has witnessed a renaissance of empirical and psychological approaches to art study, especially regarding cognitive models of art processing experience. This new emphasis on modeling has often become the basis for our theoretical understanding of human interaction with art. Models also often define areas of focus and hypotheses for new empirical research, and are increasingly important for connecting psychological theory to discussions of the brain. However, models are often made by different researchers, with quite different emphases or visual styles. Inputs and psychological outcomes may be differently considered, or can be under-reported with regards to key functional components. Thus, we may lose the major theoretical improvements and ability for comparison that can be had with models. To begin addressing this, this paper presents a theoretical assessment, comparison, and new articulation of a selection of key contemporary cognitive or information-processing-based approaches detailing the mechanisms underlying the viewing of art. We review six major models in contemporary psychological aesthetics. We in turn present redesigns of these models using a unified visual form, in some cases making additions or creating new models where none had previously existed. We also frame these approaches in respect to their targeted outputs (e.g., emotion, appraisal, physiological reaction) and their strengths within a more general framework of early, intermediate, and later processing stages. This is used as a basis for general comparison and discussion of implications and future directions for modeling, and for theoretically understanding our engagement with visual art.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the moderating role of aesthetic experience in the effect of authenticity on satisfaction in cultural heritage sites. At the same time, this study guides the perception of authenticity in cultural heritage sites.Design/methodology/approachUsing structural equation modelling for quantitative data analysis, empirical data were collected from tourists in a cultural heritage site.FindingsAs a result of the findings, it was determined that the objective and constructive authenticity of the tourists did not affect satisfaction, while the existential authenticity affected satisfaction. The moderating role of aesthetic experience between existential authenticity and overall satisfaction has been determined.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that aesthetic experience can be used by destination managers in tourists' perceptions of existential authenticity.Originality/valueThis study is the first to use aesthetic experience in tourists' perception of authenticity in cultural heritage sites. The findings show the importance of aesthetic experience in existential authenticity.

Coordinating in action groups consists of continuously adapting behaviors in response to fluctuating conditions, ideally with limited disruption to a group’s collective performance. Through an 18-month ethnography of how members of a community choir maintained beautiful, ongoing performance, I explored how they continuously adapted their coordinating, starting when they felt that their collective performance was fragmented or falling apart. The process model I developed shows that this aesthetic experience—the sense of fragmentation based on inputs from the bodily senses—leads to emotional triggering, meaning group members’ emotions prompt changes in their attention and behavior. They then distribute their attention in new ways, increasing their focus on both global qualities of their ongoing performance (in this context, the musical score and conductor) and local qualities (singers’ contributions). My findings suggest that by changing what aspects of a situation compose their immediate experience, action group members can adapt their coordinating behaviors by changing their heed: the behavior that demonstrates their attentiveness and awareness. The intertwining of attention and emotions helps explain how groups move between heedless and heedful interrelating over time, leading to an aesthetic experience of collective performance as being whole or coherent. My research shows that embodied forms of cognition (what we know from direct experience of an environment) complement accounts of how representational forms of knowledge (what we know from symbols, concepts, or ideas) facilitate real-time adaptation in groups. These insights have implications for a range of organizations engaged in complex action group work.

In philosophy of aesthetics, scholars commonly express a commitment to the premise that there is a distinctive type of judgment that can be meaningfully labeled “aesthetic”, and that these judgments are distinctively different from other types of judgments. We argue that, within an Aristotelian framework, there is no clear avenue for meaningfully differentiating “aesthetic” judgment from other types of judgment, and, as such, we aim to question the assumption that aesthetic judgment does in fact constitute a distinctive kind of judgment that is in need of, or can be subject to, distinctive theorizing. We advance our argument primarily through demonstrating that leading contemporary accounts of aesthetic judgment do not successfully distinguish a type of judgment in that they do not tell us how making an aesthetic judgment differs substantially from judging that 2 + 3 = 5, that football is entertaining, or that today is Tuesday.

Even though the role of aesthetics in human life is presumed, its critical role in tourism experience formation is not well-understood. Aesthetic experiences are in the genes of culture and heritage sites; however, aesthetic experience formation in heritage tourism sites is void in tourism theory. To fill this void in the current tourism theory, this study explores how tourists define aesthetics and how aesthetic tourism experiences are formed in the context of heritage tourism, in a particular tourism heritage setting-the Chinese classical gardens. The findings revealed the manifestation and connotation of the Yin???Yang symbolism in Chinese tourists' ways of appreciating both the natural and cultural landscapes within a World Heritage Site. The study highlights the notion of \"aesthetic gaze\" as a term that implies the vital influences of individuals' cultural, philosophical, and aesthetic traditions on their ways of generating tourism aesthetic experiences.

•The frontal pole (FP), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were commonly activated in visual-art-induced aesthetic experiences.•Bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) and striatal areas were commonly activated in music appreciation.•Activation Network Modelling (ANM) further showed that visual art and music engaged quite distinct brain networks.•Our findings support the domain-specific view of aesthetic appreciation and challenge the notion that there is a general “common neural currency” for aesthetic experiences across domains. Aesthetic experiences are characterized by a conscious, emotionally and hedonically rewarding perceptions of a stimulus's aesthetic qualities and are thought to arise from a unique combination of cognitive and affective processes. To pinpoint neural correlates of aesthetic experiences, in the present study, we performed a series of meta-analyses based on the existing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies of art appreciation in visual art (34 experiments, 692 participants) and music (34 experiments, 718 participants). The Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) analyses showed that the frontal pole (FP), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were commonly activated in visual-art-induced aesthetic experiences, whilst bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) and striatal areas were commonly activated in music appreciation. Additionally, task-independent Resting-state Functional Connectivity (RSFC), task-dependent Meta-analytical Connectivity Modelling (MACM) analyses, as well as Activation Network Modeling (ANM) further showed that visual art and music engaged quite distinct brain networks. Our findings support the domain-specific view of aesthetic appreciation and challenge the notion that there is a general “common neural currency” for aesthetic experiences across domains.

Although the role of aesthetics and aesthetic education in everyday life was discussed as early as the ancient philosophers, the psychological mechanisms shaping the aesthetic quotient have hardly been investigated by empirical studies. The aim of this study was to examine the direct relationship between experience and aesthetic competence, and the mediating role of need for cognition. The study involved 201 Polish adults, aged 18 to 76 ( M  = 26.40; SD  = 11.89), 65% of whom were women. The respondents completed anonymous questionnaires on an online platform. The surveys included a metric, the Aesthetic Competence Scale (ACS), the Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire (AEQ) and the Need for Cognition Scale (NCS). A positive correlation coefficient was obtained between all three variables studied, with need for cognition acting as a mediator in the relationship between experience and aesthetic competence. The findings indicate that individuals reporting intense aesthetic experiences have a higher aesthetic competence if this relationship is mediated by a high need for cognitive effort.