Effects of perceptual balance on aesthetic appreciation

Abstract

In this dissertation, the effect of perceptual balance on aesthetic appreciation was investigated. Perceptual balance is a complex visual feature that depends on several factors and mechanisms, whose details remain largely unknown. Consequently, in four research papers, the concept and psychological mechanisms of perceptual balance and its effect on the aesthetic appreciation were investigated. In this context, different types of perceptual balance were examined. Moreover, the relations and interactions between balance and other visual features were studied. Thus, this dissertation aimed to contribute to a more universal theory and agreement about a general concept of perceptual balance. For this purpose, in the first research paper, objective measures based on the notion of mechanical balance were used to examine how well they account for balance, symmetry and preference judgments of simple pictures. Based on this mechanical metaphor, it is assumed that each element in a picture has a certain perceptual weight that depends on its low-level features such as color, size and form. At least for simple stimulus material, the concept of mechanical balance and its positive association with aesthetic appreciation and subjective balance ratings could be confirmed. In order to further investigate the predictive power of the objective measures as well as the relation of balance and aesthetic appreciation, in the second research paper Japanese calligraphies were used as stimuli. The results showed that perceptual balance was uncorrelated with the measures and with liking. However, discounting the effects of prototypicality on liking revealed a negative effect of stability on liking (for atypical calligraphies). These findings demonstrate that visual features can compete and interact in a complex way, which is why it can be difficult to detect the effect of perceptual balance on liking. The third research paper aimed to examine the extent to which the mechanical concept of balance holds for more complex pictures. Therefore, a set of non-representational abstract paintings were used, which could be divided into single-element, multiple-element and dynamic-pattern pictures. Whereas mechanical balance was applied to assess single-element pictures, the balance of multiple-element and dynamic-pattern pictures was rated more in the sense of gravitational stability. Only for the multiple-element stimuli, there was a positive relation between balance, stability and liking. Consequently, there are different types of balance, and their relation with liking depends on the picture type. Finally, the fourth research paper addressed the relation between perceived stability and aesthetic appreciation because the previous research papers suggested two types of instability: first, a gravitational instability that is disliked; and second, an instability that implies movement and is liked. Systematical investigations of these two different types of visual instability confirmed that movement is responsible for the positive effect of instability on aesthetic appreciation because movement is positively correlated with emotionality. Consequently, instability reduces the aesthetical appreciation of a picture unless it implies movement. Taken together, the findings of this dissertation support the notion that perceptual balance is understood as a mechanical balance at least for simple pictures. Objective measures that reflect this mechanical metaphor were significantly correlated with subjective balance ratings and aesthetic appreciation. However, depending on the picture type, the relation and meaning of balance can vary. As an alternative construct of perceptual balance, perceived stability was introduced. Moreover, the findings uncovered that perceptual balance could interact and compete with other visual features in a complex way. Consequently, this dissertation provides a deeper insight into the mechanism of balance perception, which is relevant for psychological aesthetics as well as art theory.