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Home > Scholarly Contributions > Abstracts > Volume 17 Issue 1
Volume 17 Issue 1
Color Contrast and Color Preference
B. F. Katz, 1999, 17:1, 1-24.
Abstract: This article attempts to put the science of color preference on a firm theoretical footing. A model of color contrast, in which the perceived color of an area is influenced by the surrounding colors, is proposed. It is based on double opponent cells, neural units which respond preferentially to one of the four opponent colors, blue, yellow, red, and green. It is shown that by modeling the receptive fields (RFs) of these cells, one can account for a number of color contrast effects. These include the direction of the color contrast shift, the magnitude of the shift as a function of the extent of the surround, and the self-inhibitory nature of a colored area. It is then demonstrated, with an additional assumption relating mean activation of the double opponent units to liking, that the same model can be used to advantage in understanding color preference. It is first shown that the model predicts that preference should increase with increasing saturation. Next, it is shown that the inhibition of a fully saturated field on a less saturated field is greater than vice versa, in keeping with preference results in priming experiments. The model is then shown to predict that complementary colors are in maximum harmony, also in accord with observed results. Finally, the concept of virtual saturation is introduced in order to make predictions regarding hue preference.

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The Meanings of Modern Art
Ana M. Ullan and Manuel H. Belver, 1999, 17:1, 22-35.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to explore the meanings which are attached by different non-specialist individuals to the expressions "modern art" and "modern painting." These meanings will then be related to the individuals attitudes to modern art and other variables concerning their social background. People have different conceptions of art. These shape the attitude of each individual to artistic products. The meaning of these conceptions cannot be regarded as independent of the social group to which each individual belongs. On the contrary, the social context conditions the meanings which each individual attaches to an object of art. As a result, the attitude of each individual in relation to art must be analyzed in their social context.

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The Cumulative Influence of Depth and Flatness Information on the Perception of Size in Pictorial Representations
R. J. Miller, 1999, 17:1, 37-57.
Abstract: It long has been recognized that depth and flatness information influence the perception of size in pictures. However, never has their combined influence been factorially examined and quantified. Using the Ponzo illusion as a model, three experiments, using young adult observers, explored this combined influence. Results showed that the salience of depth information and the salience of flatness information had a cumulative impact on size perception such that, for example, the combined effects of higher depth salience and lower flatness salience produced responses more closely approaching size constancy than did other combinations of depth and flatness salience. Furthermore, females size perception more closely approached size constancy than did that of males, although this difference disappeared in conditions where depth salience was particularly low. The three experiments are discussed in terms of the interaction between depth and flatness and its implications for perceiving size in pictures, and possible implications of this interaction with gender, including the possibility that females may process depth information in a manner different from males.

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Reception and Memory for Serious and Light Rock Music Videos
Gerald C. Cupchik and Marc Saltzman, 1999, 17:1, 59-72.
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to examine verbal scale ratings of rock music videos and recognition memory for clips extracted from them. In Part One of the experiment, forty-eight subjects, including equal numbers of males and females, saw forty-five second segments from eight "Serious" (meaningful subject matter) and eight "Light" (entertaining) rock music videos. They rated each video segment on nine scales measuring cognitive (interesting, challenging, memorable), affective (pleasant, exciting), contextual (personally meaningful, socially relevant), and stimulus qualities (fit of lyrics and melody, fit of video image and music). Half of each music type was viewed in a "subjective, emotional, and personal manner" and half were viewed in an "objective, analytical, and detached manner" in a within-subjects design. In Part Two, subjects were shown forty-eight three-second clips from either 1) the original forty-five second segment ("old"), 2) another part of the same video ("new"), or 3) another video altogether. Subjects had to indicate whether the clip had been seen in Part One ("old") or not ("new"). Recognition accuracy was greater for clips from the Serious videos and for videos viewed under the Subjective Set. Generally, clips that were rated as Exciting but less Challenging were more accurately recognized. Serious videos were more accurately recognized if they were perceived as Socially Relevant and Pleasing, while Light videos were more accurately recognized if the image fit the music but the lyrics did not fit the melody.

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The Significance of Transpersonal Experiences, Emotional Conflict, and Cognitive Abilities in Creativity
Lorry Ayers, Sarah Beaton, and Harry Hunt, 1999, 17:1, 73-82.
Abstract: Nineteen visual artists and eighteen actors were compared to twenty-one imaginative controls, matched for high levels of imaginative absorption, all subjects female. Creatives had mystical experiences significantly more frequently than controls. In particular, the visual artists reported having had significantly more current, positive altered states of consciousness (lucid and archetypal-mythological dreaming, out of body experiences, and waking mystical experiences). These findings, taken with the fact that the creatives did not show a significantly greater tendency toward psychopathology as indexed by the multiple measures of trauma and emotional conflict, suggest that contrary to the stereotype, creatives may not be driven by conflict so much as by intense and constructive states of consciousness. Most previous studies of productive creatives have used lower absorption controls, making it more difficult to locate specific factors that make imaginative subjects into productive artists and actors.

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