Lecture 3 - Aesthetic Evaluation Reflect the Interplay of Individual Experience and Social Influence

what factors contribute to what we find aesthetically pleasing and valuable?

• Comes from our own individual knowledge & experience

• also informational cues in the world

what is the difference between veblen good vs typical goods?

• typical goods

  • get more popular as they get cheaper

• veblen goods

  • are desirable BECAUSE they are expensive

what factors influence aesthetic judgments?

• social information (AAPPG)

  • artist status (music listening mozart experiment)

  • artist morality

  • perceived value (wine tasting experiment)

  • groups I identify with/look up to

  • preference of others & majority

• individual experience w/ stimulus

  • mere exposure increases aesthetic liking

  • ex. mona lisa flipped vs original

• individual’s ability to process a class of stimulus

  • classic thatcher effect: flaws in inverted faces are harder to detect than in upright faces

what are the two possible predictions as to how social feedback works with familiarity?

• Two possible predictions:

  • more familiar stimuli will be less affected by social influence

  • social influence is a separate (additive) source of valence

describe the first study of familiarity and social norms (methods, results)

• Method

  • 3 groups of varying repeated exposure to a face

  • asked to rate attractiveness of face

  • each face was accompanied with social feedback of peers

• Results

  • faces that are familiar appear more attractive AND

  • faces that others think are attractive also appear more attractive

  • social feedback works across all exposure levels