Relationship of Preference Judgments to Typicality, Novelty, and Mere Exposure

Abstract

Two theories of aesthetic preference are reviewed. According to Berlyne's psychobiological theory, the main determinants of aesthetic preference are collative variables such as complexity and novelty, and preference is generally related to its determinants in an inverted-U manner. Recent findings contrary to these predictions are briefly reviewed. According to Martindale's cognitive theory, the main determinant of aesthetic preference is prototypicality or meaningfulness, and preference is usually related to its determinants in a monotonic or U-shaped fashion. Three experiments concerning preference for semantic category exemplars are reported. Typicality accounted for eight or nine times more of explained variance in preference than did long-term novelty, short-term novelty, or mere exposure. Preference was related to both typicality and collative variables by monotonic or If-shaped functions.

Confusion and interest: The role of knowledge emotions in aesthetic experience.

“…Empirical aesthetics emphasizes subtle feelings of pleasure, consistent with its roots in philosophical aesthetics. Mild, sublime feelings are important, and many contemporary theories explain these feelings well (e.g., Hagtvedt, Hagtvedt, & Patrick, 2008;Leder, Belke, Oeberst, & Augustin, 2004;Martindale, Moore, & West, 1988;Whitfield, 2009). But people have a wide range of aesthetic experiences, and theories of aesthetic pleasure do not always explain unusual states well.…”

Emotional Responses to Art: From Collation and Arousal to Cognition and Emotion

“…This seems to be part of a broader -prototype preference‖ effect; people also prefer typical faces, animals, and objects (Halberstadt & Rhodes, 2000;Rhodes & Halberstadt, 2003). Several controversial experiments have compared typicality against complexity and novelty (e.g., Martindale et al, 1990;Martindale, Moore, & West, 1988;Whitfield, 1983) with the goal of determining which variables better explain aesthetic preference (see discussions by Boselie, 1991;Hekkert, Snelders, & van Wieringen, 2003;Konečni, 1996;North & Hargreaves, 2000).…”

Assessing Racial Preferences in Movies: The Impact of Mere-Exposure and Social Identity Theory

“…Simple products or products with perceived simplicity seem to actually decrease one's liking of that product after repeated exposure. Similarly, when it comes to aesthetic preferences mere-exposure, alone, seems to be less effective at predicting one's choices than typicality or common representation (Martindale, Moore, & West, 1988). Provided that White casts are the most simple and typical in Western movies, it may be that the preference for predominantly White casts may be not just a product of mere-exposure, but of simplicity and typicality.…”