Prediction of beauty and liking ratings for abstract and representational paintings using subjective and objective measures

PLoS One. 2018 Jul 6;13(7):e0200431. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200431. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Recent research on aesthetics has challenged the adage that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" by identifying several factors that predict ratings of beauty. However, this research has emerged in a piecemeal fashion. Most studies have examined only a few predictors of beauty, and measured either subjective or objective predictors, but not both. Whether the predictors of ratings of beauty versus liking differ has not been tested, nor has whether predictors differ for major distinctions in art, such as abstract vs. representational paintings. Finally, past studies have either relied on experimenter-generated stimuli-which likely yield pallid aesthetic experiences-or on a curation of high-quality art-thereby restricting the range of predictor scores. We report a study (N = 598) that measured 4 subjective and 11 objective predictors of both beauty ratings and liking ratings, for 240 abstract and 240 representational paintings that varied widely in beauty. A crossover pattern occurred in the ratings, such that for abstract paintings liking ratings were higher than beauty ratings, whereas for representational paintings beauty ratings were higher than liking ratings. Prediction was much better for our subjective than objective predictors, and much better for our representational than abstract paintings. For abstract paintings, liking ratings were much more predictable than beauty ratings. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Beauty*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Judgment
  • Male
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Paintings*
  • Visual Perception*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada supported this research through Discovery Grant RGPIN 238599-2015 to Glen E. Bodner. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.