Color composition in paintings is a critical factor affecting observers’ aesthetic judgments. We examined observers’ preferences for the color composition of Japanese and Occidental paintings when their color gamut was rotated. In the experiment, observers were asked to select their preferred image from original and three hue-rotated images in a four-alternative forced choice paradigm. Despite observers’ being unfamiliar with the presented artwork, the original paintings (0 degrees) were preferred more frequently than the hue-rotated ones. Furthermore, the original paintings’ superiority was observed when the images were divided into small square pieces and their positions randomized (Scrambled condition), and when the images were composed of square pieces collected from different art paintings and composed as patchwork images (Patchwork condition). Therefore, the original paintings’ superiority regarding preference was quite robust, and the specific objects in the paintings associated with a particular color played only a limited role. Rather, the original paintings’ general trend in color statistics influenced hue-angle preference. Art paintings likely share common statistical regulations in color distributions, which may be the basis for the universality and superiority of the preference for original paintings.

Findings regarding the direction of pupil modulation (dilation/constriction) related to aesthetic preference are often contradictory, partly because preference is determined by multiple factors depending on the target. Research has demonstrated that art paintings with image features similar to those of natural scenes are preferred, suggesting that the perception of naturalness is one factor affecting preference. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the pupil dilation in response to visual examination of a preferred painting may be caused by the perceived naturalness of the color composition of the painting. We investigated the relationship between pupil response and preference/perception of naturalness by manipulating the color composition of art paintings. First, we found that when compared to hue-rotated paintings, the paintings presented with their original color composition were preferred and perceived as more natural. Second, the extent of the pupil dilation had a significant positive correlation with the perceptions of naturalness for the painting, whereas there was no significant correlation between pupil dilation and preference. This result indicates that the pupil dilation during the viewing of the paintings is not caused by preference but by the perceived naturalness regarding the color composition of paintings. This was observed not only in representational paintings but also in abstract paintings, suggesting that the color composition of a painting itself, rather than memory colors-the standard, known hues of objects-or other influences, is an important factor of perceived naturalness that produces pupil dilation.

Laterality is a bias in which humans prefer one side over the other. Previous research has shown laterality in facial direction and facial aspects; right-facing faces are preferred over left-facing faces, indicating a rightward dominance. Right hemisphere is specialized for face recognition, and facial parts of a right-facing face are located on the left side; hence right-facing face is expected to have higher perceptual fluency. This study investigated the relationship between the object's face-likeness and the preference laterality and the difference in perceptual fluency depending on the object's orientation, using psychophysical experiment and EEG measurement. As a result, right-facing preference was revealed only for face-like objects. In addition, it was shown that the perceptual fluency of right-facing objects was higher than left-facing objects, regardless of face-likeness. These results suggest that preference laterality is due to the influence of a) facial information processing mechanism and b) cognitive bias acquired through experience.

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