| Home > Scholarly Contributions > Abstracts > Volume 29 Issue 2
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| Volume 29 Issue 2
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Age and Aesthetic Significance in Classical Music: A Multi-Level Reanalysis of Halsey's (1976) Ratings
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Aaron Kozbelt, 2011,29:2,129 - 148
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Abstract:
Halsey (1976) provided quantitative ratings of the aesthetic significance of classical music masterworks, which have often been used in empirical studies of lifespan creativity. Previous research using the ratings suggests that composers overall show two career peaks, consistent with a recent "finder-seeker" creator typology. Here, ratings for 2533 works by 91 composers were reanalyzed using hierarchical linear modeling, which accounts for the nested structure of the data better than earlier multiple regression methods. In contrast to previous findings, results showed a single-peaked age function for aesthetic significance ratings. Composer-level variance in the slope of the trajectory was accounted for by total amount of masterpiece music composed and by career age at best work, even when those works were themselves removed from the dataset. This implies that composers show strong and consistent individual differences in career trajectories, which are interpreted via the "finder-seeker" typology.
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The Changing Poetics of the Dissolve in Hollywood Film
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James E. Cutting, Kaitlin L. Brunick, Jordan E. DeLong, 2011,29:2,149 - 169
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Abstract:
Most films contain many shots knit together by several types of transitions, and by far the most prevalent is the cut. Over the last 70 years, fades and wipes have become increasingly rare. Dissolves have also diminished in frequency but, unlike the others, they remain an important part of the general visual narrative and have shown a small increase in contemporary film. We tracked the usage of dissolves in 150 films released from 1935 to 2005. We found: (a) that after a lull between 1970 and 1990, dissolves have become more numerous, although not nearly so common as during the studio era; (b) that shots surrounding single dissolves are fairly long compared to the median shot lengths of a given film, suggesting visual preparation for scene change before a dissolve, and a re-acceleration after; and (c) that after their nadir, dissolves have increasingly reappeared in clusters reflecting a rebirth of the Hollywood montage. We also discuss the functions and meanings of these montage sequences in the stream of a film's narrative, with more contemporary films focusing on setups, altered mental states, and celebrations rather than older films' focus on travel and time gaps of various sizes.
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Buy the whole article at baywood.com - online shop now.
To let you know:
As member of the IAEA you receive the Empirical Studies of the Arts
twice a year for free and are able to purchase all back issues since
1983 at discounted rates.
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Taste Sensitivity and Aesthetic Preferences: Is Taste Only a Metaphor?
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C. Nathan DeWall, Paul J. Silvia, David R. Schurtz, Jessica McKenzie, 2011,29:2,171 - 189
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Abstract:
"Taste" is often used to describe sensitivity to both foods and visual art. We examined whether a biological marker of physical taste sensitivity influenced aesthetic preferences. In three studies, we measured physical taste sensitivity by exposing participants to the chemical phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and having them rate how bitter it tasted (if they tasted it at all). Across all studies, miscalibrated physical taste sensitivity (extremely high and low taste bud density) related to extreme negative responses to disturbing and provocative artwork. Miscalibrated physical taste sensitivity was related specifically to avoiding (high disgust) disturbing artwork, but not to approach-related negative affect (anger). These findings provide novel evidence regarding biological influences on aesthetic preferences.
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Buy the whole article at baywood.com - online shop now.
To let you know:
As member of the IAEA you receive the Empirical Studies of the Arts
twice a year for free and are able to purchase all back issues since
1983 at discounted rates.
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Does Shape Constancy Relate to Drawing Ability? Two Failures to Replicate
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I. C. McManus, Phik-Wern Loo, Rebecca Chamberlain, Howard Riley, Nicola Brunswick, 2011,29:2,191 - 208
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Abstract:
People vary in their ability to make accurate representational drawings. Cohen and Jones (2008) have suggested that individuals who draw poorly have problems in the perception of objects, so that the extent of shape constancy (phenomenal regression) correlates with drawing ability, there being a "robust negative relation between perceptual errors resulting from shape constancy and drawing accuracy." The present article describes two attempts to replicate that finding, with 30 non-art students in Study 1 and with 106 art students in Study 2. Study 1 found a correlation that was statistically significant, but in the opposite direction to that reported by Cohen and Jones, and in Study 2 the correlation was very close to zero. Combining these results with those of Cohen and Jones using a random-effects meta-analysis finds a non-significant correlation overall. Taken together, these findings throw doubt on the Cohen and Jones' hypothesis that those with less phenomenal regression have better representational drawing ability.
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Buy the whole article at baywood.com - online shop now.
To let you know:
As member of the IAEA you receive the Empirical Studies of the Arts
twice a year for free and are able to purchase all back issues since
1983 at discounted rates.
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Scaling Professional Critics: Men and Women Rate Films
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Jules J. Wanderer, 2011,29:2,209 - 223
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Abstract:
Film critic research typically attends to the impact of critics' ratings and reviews on box office receipts. With few exceptions, critics are treated as a homogeneous group. Taking a different approach, this article explores similarities and differences among critics. First, in a test of potential differential influences of the objectification of women harbored in the "Male Gaze," no significant difference between male and female critics' median ratings was found. Second, differences and similarities among critics did appear in their rankings along a "kindness" dimension. Specifically, produced by a Correspondence Analysis which used the complete rating "profiles" of 25 professional film critics who contributed 6389 ratings to Film Comment, it was possible to rank critics from most to least kind. Third, differences in kindness ratings between two subsets (male and female critics) set the stage for another examination of the continuing influence of the Male Gaze: while males were distributed across the entire kindness scale, female critics clustered around the central (or average) kindness profile. The observed similarities and differences among critics are discussed in terms of the divergent influences of professional canons and ideological issues, such as the Male Gaze.
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Buy the whole article at baywood.com - online shop now.
To let you know:
As member of the IAEA you receive the Empirical Studies of the Arts
twice a year for free and are able to purchase all back issues since
1983 at discounted rates.
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Preference Judgment for Dynamic Symmetry
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Theresa M. Ferg, Peter S. Kaplan, Mary E. Coussons-Read, William L. Briggs, 2011,29:2,225 - 242
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Abstract:
In the manner of Fechner, this study employed a novel psychophysics methodology and a novel geometric construction task to verify the results of preference judgments for dynamic symmetry (i.e., the golden ratio). The participants were instructed to visually discriminate by forced-choice preference between images with dynamic symmetry and their counterparts with alternate ratios involving horizontal and vertical distortions. The participants reported a reliable preference for images with dynamic symmetry. A Chi-square goodness-of-fit test demonstrated a correlation between participants' preferences (an aesthetic appeal) and the dynamic symmetry of images. This study expands the mathematical knowledge of dynamic symmetry, and contributes to current research on the perception of symmetry.
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Buy the whole article at baywood.com - online shop now.
To let you know:
As member of the IAEA you receive the Empirical Studies of the Arts
twice a year for free and are able to purchase all back issues since
1983 at discounted rates.
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Manipulating Mindfulness Benefits Creative Elaboration at High Levels of Neuroticism
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Darya L. Zabelina, Michael D. Robinson, Brian D. Ostafin, James R. Council, 2011,29:2,243 - 255
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Abstract:
Trait and state influences on creative performance have primarily focused on the trait of openness to experience and on states hypothesized to facilitate intrinsic task motivation. The present investigation (N = 81) sought to broaden our understanding of such influences. Neuroticism was hypothesized to predict lesser creative elaboration, whereas trait-level variations in mindfulness were hypothesized to predict greater creative elaboration. Both hypotheses were supported. In addition, the state of mindfulness was manipulated and hypothesized to result in higher levels of creative elaboration, particularly among neurotic individuals. An interaction of this type was found. Results are discussed in terms of a broadened perspective of creative performance, the distinction between creative elaboration and originality, and a model of the prefrontal cortex contrasting self-conscious versus taskoriented processing modes. Implications for understanding neuroticism are also discussed.
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Buy the whole article at baywood.com - online shop now.
To let you know:
As member of the IAEA you receive the Empirical Studies of the Arts
twice a year for free and are able to purchase all back issues since
1983 at discounted rates.
See more benefits!
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Index—Contents of Volume 29, 2011
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, 2011,29:2,257 - 258
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Abstract:
This article does not have an abstract.
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Buy the whole article at baywood.com - online shop now.
To let you know:
As member of the IAEA you receive the Empirical Studies of the Arts
twice a year for free and are able to purchase all back issues since
1983 at discounted rates.
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