The Role of Curvature in Preference for Visual Artworks

Abstract

[eng] Several studies have shown that people tend to prefer objects (Bar & Neta, 2006, 2007), rooms (Vartanian et al., 2013), and geometric figures (Bertamini & Palumbo, 2016; Silvia & Barona, 2009) with curved contours to similar sharp-angled ones (Gómez-Puerto, Munar, & Nadal, 2015). In a previous study we aimed to determine whether people’s preference for curvature extends to their appreciation for artworks. The results showed a negative effect of mere exposure and a small effect of preference for curvature. In the present study we related both effects to investigate if participants were aware of curvature differences in abstract artworks. To this end, we created a set of stimuli that included two versions of indeterminate cubist artworks: the original paintings -with sharp angles- and versions that had been altered by rounding off 6 vertices in the center of the artworks. Participants were presented with both versions for 83 ms in random order, and asked to rate them according to liking on a 7-point Likert scale. Our results did not support our original hypothesis because the same negative mere exposure effect was found in all images. Further research should use simpler artworks with more evident differences and give the participants more time to appreciate the paintings.