Ambiguity Tolerance, Semantic Distance and Aesthetic Appreciation: How Individual Differences Guide Appreciation of Art.

Ambiguity is understood as a multiplicity of meanings, a significant degree of uncertainty that hinders straightforward explanation. We explore how perceived ambiguity of artworks impacts aesthetic appreciation, as measured by interest and emotional intensity, and how the personality trait Ambiguity Tolerance (AT) impacts these relationships. Research on aesthetic appreciation offers insights into the cognitive processes underlying our perception of art, however, little to no studies have examined the specific impact of AT on interest and emotional intensity when predicted by Semantic Distance. We aimed to fill this gap in the literature by recruiting 123 participants via Prolific to evaluate 60 artworks in an online experiment. After being assessed on expertise via the VAIAK questionnaire, participants viewed each artwork and answered one of four appreciation assessment prompts (emotional intensity, cognitive affect, interest, or insight confidence). Finally, participants completed...Show moreAmbiguity is understood as a multiplicity of meanings, a significant degree of uncertainty that hinders straightforward explanation. We explore how perceived ambiguity of artworks impacts aesthetic appreciation, as measured by interest and emotional intensity, and how the personality trait Ambiguity Tolerance (AT) impacts these relationships. Research on aesthetic appreciation offers insights into the cognitive processes underlying our perception of art, however, little to no studies have examined the specific impact of AT on interest and emotional intensity when predicted by Semantic Distance. We aimed to fill this gap in the literature by recruiting 123 participants via Prolific to evaluate 60 artworks in an online experiment. After being assessed on expertise via the VAIAK questionnaire, participants viewed each artwork and answered one of four appreciation assessment prompts (emotional intensity, cognitive affect, interest, or insight confidence). Finally, participants completed the MSTAT-II questionnaire measuring AT, and thus concluded the study. We hypothesized that greater semantic distance would positively predict appreciation and that higher AT would amplify these relationships. Our findings contradicted the hypotheses: we observed a significant negative association between ambiguity and both appreciation dimensions, and AT reduced the negative effect of ambiguity on interest only, with no notable effect on emotional intensity. We suggest that although individual differences in ambiguity tolerance have an impact on interest in ambiguous art, the underlying personality traits that influence our emotional responses to ambiguity warrant further investigation.Show less

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Ambiguity Tolerance, Semantic Distance and Aesthetic Appreciation: How Individual Differences Guide Appreciation of Art.