Effects of Emotional and Cognitive Changes on Aesthetic Evaluation of Poetry Based on Subjective and Physiological Continuous Responses with Pupil Diameter Measurement

Abstract

Haiku poetry, a short poem with a clear form, has the potential to elucidate many unknown aspects of linguistic art. Previous studies on haiku appreciation have shown that negative emotion and cognitive ambiguity reduce aesthetic evaluation. Considering the importance of negative emotions and ambiguity in art, it is beneficial to clarify the process of emotional and cognitive changes during aesthetic evaluation. This study examined the temporal effects of emotional and cognitive changes on aesthetic evaluation from multiple perspectives by measuring the ratings of each section of haiku, continuous emotional reports, and physiological changes in pupil diameter. The 112 students first rated the haiku at three time points on items such as beauty, valence, and ambiguity. Next, they rated the same haiku continuously for 20 seconds using a joystick for valence and arousal during which the pupil diameter was measured. The results showed that a decrease in negative emotions and ambiguity explained the beauty of the haiku. In the continuous emotion reports, positive emotions gradually increased for positive haiku and negative emotions gradually increased for negative haiku, while arousal decreased once and then gradually increased for both forms of haiku. Additionally, an increase in pupil diameter also explained the beauty. The roles of negative emotions and ambiguity were revealed by focusing on both subjective and physiological indicators of emotional and cognitive changes during haiku appreciation. This study has contributed to the advancement of our understanding of linguistic art forms by empirically exploring conscious and unconscious emotional and cognitive responses to haiku.

Ambiguity Tolerance Can Improve through Poetry Appreciation and Creation

“…Ambiguity is often expected in art appreciation. In particular, viewing haiku, an art form that often contains ambiguity and whose interpretation is not uniquely defined (Hitsuwari & Nomura, 2022c), may have altered the participants' cognition of ambiguity and changed their traits beyond the context of art appreciation. Furthermore, in art creation, unlike everyday communication, everything is not described precisely.…”

“…In haiku poetry, descriptive expression is avoided, the interpretation is not uniquely defined (Hitsuwari & Nomura, 2022b), and the small number of characters and strict forms make it difficult to express all that the poets want to describe, leading to a sense of ambiguity for readers (Kishimoto, 2012). In this regard, a laboratory experiment also showed the importance of ambiguity in haiku appreciation, with the amount of resolution of cognitive and emotional ambiguity explaining the beauty of haiku (Hitsuwari & Nomura, 2022c). These ways of expression and the decision to choose what we want to say can lead to the acceptance of ambiguity, which can, in turn, transform the state or trait of ambiguity tolerance.…”