Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and Extension
The psychology of art and aesthetics has a long-standing interest in how low-level features, such as symmetry, curvature, and color, affect people’s aesthetic experience. Recent research in this tradition suggests that people find glossy, shiny objects and materials more attractive than flat, matte...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/11/4/44 |
| _version_ | 1797539921630593024 |
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| author | Paul J. Silvia Rebekah M. Rodriguez Katherine N. Cotter Alexander P. Christensen |
| author_facet | Paul J. Silvia Rebekah M. Rodriguez Katherine N. Cotter Alexander P. Christensen |
| author_sort | Paul J. Silvia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The psychology of art and aesthetics has a long-standing interest in how low-level features, such as symmetry, curvature, and color, affect people’s aesthetic experience. Recent research in this tradition suggests that people find glossy, shiny objects and materials more attractive than flat, matte ones. The present experiment sought to replicate and extend research on the attractiveness of images printed on glossy and flat paper. To control for several possible confounding factors, glossiness was manipulated between-person and varied with methods that held constant factors like weight, color quality, and resolution. To extend past work, we explored art expertise and Openness to Experience as potential moderators. A sample of 100 adults viewed landscape photographs on either high-gloss photo paper or on identical paper in which a flat, matte spray finish had been applied. Ratings of attractiveness showed weak evidence for replication. People rated the glossy pictures as more attractive than the matte ones, but the effect size was small (<i>d</i> = −0.23 [−0.62, 0.16]) and not statistically significant. Attractiveness ratings were significantly moderated, however, by individual differences in the aesthetic appreciation facet of Openness to Experience. When aesthetic appreciation was high, people found the images attractive regardless of condition; when it was low, people strongly preferred the glossy images over the matte ones, thus showing the classic glossiness effect. We conclude with some methodological caveats for future research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:52:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e32a272e5e7b427bac571a1c37d5c624 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:52:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-e32a272e5e7b427bac571a1c37d5c6242023-11-21T12:10:16ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2021-03-011144410.3390/bs11040044Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and ExtensionPaul J. Silvia0Rebekah M. Rodriguez1Katherine N. Cotter2Alexander P. Christensen3Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USADepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USAPositive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAPenn Center for Neuroaesthetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAThe psychology of art and aesthetics has a long-standing interest in how low-level features, such as symmetry, curvature, and color, affect people’s aesthetic experience. Recent research in this tradition suggests that people find glossy, shiny objects and materials more attractive than flat, matte ones. The present experiment sought to replicate and extend research on the attractiveness of images printed on glossy and flat paper. To control for several possible confounding factors, glossiness was manipulated between-person and varied with methods that held constant factors like weight, color quality, and resolution. To extend past work, we explored art expertise and Openness to Experience as potential moderators. A sample of 100 adults viewed landscape photographs on either high-gloss photo paper or on identical paper in which a flat, matte spray finish had been applied. Ratings of attractiveness showed weak evidence for replication. People rated the glossy pictures as more attractive than the matte ones, but the effect size was small (<i>d</i> = −0.23 [−0.62, 0.16]) and not statistically significant. Attractiveness ratings were significantly moderated, however, by individual differences in the aesthetic appreciation facet of Openness to Experience. When aesthetic appreciation was high, people found the images attractive regardless of condition; when it was low, people strongly preferred the glossy images over the matte ones, thus showing the classic glossiness effect. We conclude with some methodological caveats for future research.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/11/4/44artaestheticsglossshininessreflectionattractiveness |
| spellingShingle | Paul J. Silvia Rebekah M. Rodriguez Katherine N. Cotter Alexander P. Christensen Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and Extension Behavioral Sciences art aesthetics gloss shininess reflection attractiveness |
| title | Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and Extension |
| title_full | Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and Extension |
| title_fullStr | Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and Extension |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and Extension |
| title_short | Aesthetic Preference for Glossy Materials: An Attempted Replication and Extension |
| title_sort | aesthetic preference for glossy materials an attempted replication and extension |
| topic | art aesthetics gloss shininess reflection attractiveness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/11/4/44 |
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