Evolutionary Effect on the Embodied Beauty of Landscape Architectures

Abstract

According to the framework of evolutionary aesthetics, a sense of beauty is related to environmental adaptation and plasticity of human beings, which has adaptive value and biological foundations. Prior studies have demonstrated that organisms derive benefits from the landscape. In this study, we investigated whether the benefits of landscape might elicit a stronger sense of beauty and what the nature of this sense of beauty is. In two experiments, when viewing classical landscape and nonlandscape architectures photographs, participants rated the aesthetic scores (Experiment 1) and had a two-alternative forced choice aesthetic judgment by pressing the reaction button located near to (15 cm) or far from (45 cm) the presenting stimuli (Experiment 2). The results showed that reaction of aesthetic ratings for classical landscape architectures was faster than those of classical nonlandscape architectures. Furthermore, only the reaction of beautiful judgment of classical landscape architecture photograph was significantly faster when the reaction button was in the near position to the presenting photograph than those in the position of far away from the presenting photograph. This finding suggests a facilitated effect for the aesthetic perception of classical landscape architectures due to their corresponding components including water and green plants with strong evolutionary implications. Furthermore, this sense of beauty for classical landscape architectures might be the embodied approach to beauty based on the viewpoint of evolutionary aesthetics and embodied cognition.

Neural correlates of appreciating natural landscape and landscape garden: Evidence from an fMRI study

“…Moreover, Dance () further proposed that the processing of architecture and space is not only related to the processing of perception, but is also associated with emotional processing and experience. Previous behavioral empirical studies have also found that contact with the natural environment or green space in urban areas is in a sense good for the experience of human beings, in terms of stress reduction (Joye, ), greater vitality (Ryan et al, ), higher rewarding experience (Zhang, Tang, He, & Chen, ; Zhang, Tang, He, & Lai, ), an improvement in social performance (Zhang, Piff, Iyer, Koleva, & Keltner, ) and cognitive function (Atchley, Strayer, & Atchley, ; Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, ). This evidence coincides with the framework of evolutionary psychology, which argues that the perception and appreciation of architectural environments or scenes with green space is associated with survival, reproduction, and environmental adaptations of humans (Killin, ; Seghers, ; Zhang, Tang, He, & Lai, ), and is linked to the enhancement of positive experience.…”

“…The sensorimotor system is related to sensory processing (e.g., visual perception) and motor responses (e.g., visuo‐spatial exploration and motivation for approaching or avoiding a structure), the knowledge‐meaning system conducts signals pertaining to personal experience and individual differences during processing, and the emotion‐valuation system generates feelings, emotions, and rewarding experience (Coburn, Vartanian, & Chatterjee, ). As landscape gardens (e.g., the landscape gardens of Suzhou, China) constitute a type of architecture that is composed of natural elements (Zhang, Tang, He, & Chen, ), the manner in which people experience landscape gardens and the cortical differences between the perception and appreciation of natural landscapes (naturalness of landscapes) and landscape gardens (artificiality of landscapes) are two core questions addressed in this study.…”

The Role of Understanding on Architectural Beauty: Evidence From the Impact of Semantic Description on the Aesthetic Evaluation of Architecture

“…As another visual form of artistic expression, architecture, especially cultural-expo architecture, can be considered both an artistic creation and design work (Moore, 1965) that elicits a strong sense of beauty (Zhang et al., 2018; 2018). Cultural-expo architecture (e.g., museums, concert halls, and libraries) refers to an integration of exhibition buildings derived from museums that are built for collection, preservation, and display of artistic, cultural, and scientific items for the education of the public.…”

Why Boulder Springs has no boulders and no springs: Evolved landscape preferences and naming conventions.

“…Real estate development depends on aspects of design to capture the attention of prospective buyers at several different levels: building aesthetics, landscaping, and the community’s name (Laverne & Winson-Geideman, 2003; Jim & Chen, 2009). Interestingly, photographs of classical Japanese architecture with imagery of a natural landscape present had a statistically faster reaction time for the judgment of beauty compared with photographs of classical Japanese architecture without a natural landscape present (Zhang et al, 2018). Although there were no statistical differences in the aesthetic ratings of the stimuli, Zhang et al (2018) captured an effect of the presence of greenery within the image: beauty is judged faster when elements of nature are present.…”

“…Wilson (1984, p. 106) developed the biophilia hypothesis that holds that humans are innately drawn to nature. This affinity humans have for nature seems to permeate several different aspects of human existence, for example, art, architecture, and conservation attitudes (Grinde & Patil, 2009; Kahn, 1997; Zhang et al, 2018). Wilson (1984) questioned why common features of different landscapes seemed to attract and hold our attention as if it was an “exercise in aesthetic judgment (p. 106).” Studies of aesthetics have combined science and art to understand the appreciation of beauty in nature (Barkow et al, 1992).…”