One hundred and fifty years after Fechner: A view from the “middle of the storm”.

Abstract

Experimental aesthetics was founded in 1867 by Gustav Fechner and reinvigorated by Daniel Berlyne in 1974. Both were committed to the “formalist” idea that objective structural properties of artworks shape aesthetic pleasure. Berlyne used enhanced stimulus control and behavioral techniques to support Fechner’s idea that people prefer moderate levels of complexity. In contrast, a 19th-century projectionist viewpoint favored deeper emotional reactions to personally meaningful subject matter. Vischer’s concept of Einfühlung, or “feeling oneself into,” led to a Gestalt psychology emphasis on “forces,” embedded in the structure of the artwork, that were spontaneously felt by viewers before being noticed. These 2 perspectives are complementary and can be reconciled because, in aesthetic communication, artists embody meanings and feelings in the structure of their artworks, which might resonate with viewers. Specifying the situation in experiments encourages viewers to shift between “formalist” and “projectionist” viewpoints in accordance with instructions and dispositions.

The Art of Experiencing Art: On the Nature and the Origins of the Mode of Art eXperience (MAX)

“…If we recognize the experience of art as one that is multileveled [86] and that invites deep cognitive and emotional involvement [26], we cannot base our studies on pleasure and liking rates. Those reflect the original interest of EA in studying sensuous pleasures [26,41] rather than Gestalt experiences. In order to sufficiently capture the complex nature of experiencing art and advance our understanding of it, we need to employ tools that have the capacity to do so [25].…”

“…Science aims to generate testable (or falsifiable) predictions and significant results by breaking down complex processes and testing their parts in isolation [108]. Such approaches guided EA scholars before, who aimed to answer straightforward questions regarding color and shape preferences and the like by testing such low-level features in isolation and overlooking the principles of Gestalt [26,41]. It seems that following the discussed models may lead us to a similar situation.…”

One hundred years of Empirical Aesthetics: Fechner to Berlyne (1876 – 1976)

“…We have focused on strictly empirical work, in the sense that it not only advocated for a fact-based or materialist approach to aesthetics, but actually produced and interpreted empirical observations. For this reason, we did not cover the influential writings of, for instance, Vischer and Lipps on empathy, or Bullough on "psychical distance" (C. G. Allesch, 1987Allesch, , 1988Cupchik, 2020).…”

“…The work of Daniel Ellis Berlyne during the 1960s and 1970s had a substantial impact on contemporary Empirical Aesthetics (Cupchik, 1986(Cupchik, , 2020Day, 1977). He provided the field with a new explanatory framework based on motivational theory and grounded on neuroscience, he introduced new experimental designs and analytical procedures, and he prompted a host of new questions.…”