Effect of context on art experience and viewing behavior D Welleditsch, M Nadal, H Leder |
|---|
Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
|
| Affective and cognitive aesthetic processes are influenced by contextual factors. Although art is appreciated in various different contexts, empirical research in psychological aesthetics was mainly conducted in the laboratory. We compared aesthetic experiences and viewing behavior in the museum and laboratory to examine the effect of context on art appreciation. In the first study, three groups of participants viewed artworks in the museum and/or the laboratory on two consecutive sessions while aesthetic experiences were measured via self-reports. In the second study, we additionally used mobile eye tracking to measure viewing time separately for artworks and labels. Our results suggest that aesthetic experiences are more arousing, positive and interesting in the museum than in the laboratory. Furthermore, artworks viewed in the museum were liked more and elicited a higher sense of understanding compared to artworks viewed in the laboratory. These effects were found regardless of whether artworks were seen before or after the laboratory session. Enhanced art experience was also significantly correlated with longer viewing time. However, context modulated the relationship between art experience and viewing time. Future research should focus on specific factors that contribute to this effect of museum context on aesthetic experience and viewing behavior. |
| Up Home |
|---|