The Dark Tetrad and aesthetic preferences: The role of the dark side of personality in the aesthetic preference for paintings

The role of so-called normal and dark personality traits in everyday preferences, interests, and choices is visible in different domains of life. However, a small number of studies have dealt with individual differences in dark personality traits and aesthetic preferences. The domain of dark personality traits is in recent studies generally conceptualized as the Dark Tetrad — comprised of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. Thus, the aim of this research was to examine the relationship between the Dark Tetrad and visual aesthetic preferences. The sample consisted of 170 participants (Mage = 29.09, SDage = 10.66; 77.1 % females). Participants completed the Short Dark Triad and the Varieties of Sadistic Tendencies questionnaires, and also rated their familiarity and preference for 15 paintings with five different types of motives (religious, abstract, oriental, violence, and landscape). It was shown, based on looking at zero-order correlations that only narcissism positively correlates with the preference for paintings with violent motives. Also, a series of regression analyses were performed, which showed that the only significant regression model is the one that reflects the role of reduced psychopathy in the preference for religious motives. The first finding can be explained on the basis of stable findings on the relationship between narcissism and aggression, and also narcissism and violence. The second finding can be interpreted in the context that general religiosity has previously been shown to be negatively associated with psychopathy. It can be concluded that dark personality traits are one of the factors that affect aesthetic preferences.

Sanlele ‘Jumping’ on the Road of Glocalization: Sounds of Okinawa Tropical Champuru Culture and the World Youth Uchinanchu

Sanlele, a three-stringed musical instrument emerged in 2004 in Okinawa, is a hybrid musical instrument in-between Hawaiian ukulele and Okinawan sanshin. San, means three, comes from Okinawan sanshin. The term ‘lele’, means jumping, has a direct connection with Hawaiian ukulele. If this is true, the sanlele thus can be understood literally as ‘jumping sanshin’. During the process of hybridizing, the sanlele developed at least four versions, reflecting everchanging aesthetic preferences by musical instrument makers. This paper bases on regular fieldwork made since 2018. It argues that if taking performer into consideration, it is clearly to see that sanlele’s meaning is flexibly constructed and invoked in any performance. Through ‘switched meanings’ in performance, the sanlele switches on or off a connection with Okinawa and Hawaii. There are several backgrounds contributing to its ‘jumping’ on the road of ‘glocalization’ (R. Robertson 1995), including the Okinawan unique tropical champuru cultural spirit, the Worldwide Youth Uchinanchu Festival, and oversea Uchinanchu’s identity rethinking on the road of a ‘transnational homing’(Katie Walsh 2006). To make, to play, and to listen to the sanlele, can be a chance for musical instrument makers, performers, and people who use it to open up in dialogues with histories and cultures of Okinawa, Hawaii, and beyond.

The Neuroaesthetics of Architecture

Environmental psychology is concerned with understanding the impact of the environment—built and natural—on the mind. Neuroscience of architecture can contribute to this aim by elucidating the workings of the brain in relation to features of our physical environment. Toward that end, Vartanian et al. (2013) examined the impact of contour on aesthetic judgments and approach-avoidance decisions while viewing images of room interiors in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. Participants found curvilinear rooms more beautiful than rectilinear rooms, and viewing curvilinear rooms in that context activated the anterior cingulate cortex—a region involved in processing emotion. That observation, coupled with the finding that pleasantness accounted for majority of variance in beauty judgments, supports the idea that our preference for curvilinear design is driven by affect. This study represents an example of how neural data can reveal mechanisms that underlie our aesthetic preferences in the domain of architecture.

Facial Feminization Surgery Review: Diagnosis, Preoperative Planning, Surgical Techniques, and Outcomes

Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS) broadly encompasses a series of surgical procedures offered by craniomaxillofacial surgeons designed to modify facial features and transform both skeletal and soft tissues to create a more feminine appearance. Techniques, initially pioneered by Dr. Douglas Ousterhout, have been modified to include preoperative virtual planning and evolving aesthetic preferences. Computed Tomography (CT) imaging assists with morphologic typing of the brow, supraorbital, chin, and lateral mandible regions. Advancements in instrumentation increase the efficiency and accuracy of FFS procedures. More recently, trends in transgender acceptance have led to improved insurance authorization for FFS procedures. Objective outcome studies have shown success in achieving goals of (1) minimizing mis-gendering in public (appropriately identifying trans-women as female) and (2) reduction in dysphoric feelings (improved patient satisfaction).

Sztuka i adaptacja. Adoracja, aberracja, abominacja

The text, commenting on The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution by Denis Dutton, and the premises contained in it that aesthetic preferences derive from individual and social adaptation mechanisms, will attempt to consider the aspect of the usefulness of art less emphasised by Denis Dutton as a tool for developing and deepening individual perceptual competences. The effective functioning of the nervous system, including efficient handling of individual senses (i.e. the degree of sensitivity to stimuli) and the ability to critically analyse them, provides organisms not only with spatial orientation, but also allows them to plan and predict potential cause-effect sequences.

Personality and aesthetic preferences in architecture: a review of the study approaches and assessment methods

It is often believed and expected that a clear relationship exists between human personality and human preferences in architecture. However, by reviewing the findings of previous studies, it is found out that such expectation is not necessarily true, as there is no consistency among previous findings. This study provides a critical review and overall classification of various research approaches and assessment methods used in previous studies. In addition, the theoretical and practical shortcomings of each approach have been introduced. Next, the psychological approach is recommended as a more feasible one, and the studies carried out using this approach are structurally analyzed. The theoretical frameworks, strategies and the execution tactics of these researches were critically reviewed. Finally, a systematic quadruple model was suggested for evaluating aesthetic experiences and judgments. After presenting the manifest and the hidden variables with this model, machine learning helped to discover the hidden patterns in the personality and human preferences.

ARCHITECTURAL COMPONENTS OF THE PARK ENVIRONMENT AS INDICATORS OF THE SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS’ IMPACT ON AESTHETIC PREFERENCES

The article presents outlines the importance of architectural components of the park environment as indicators of the influence of socio-cultural factors on aesthetic preferences. The study involved 60 people, ranging in age from 22 to 74 years, which were divided into two age groups of 30 people: young people - 22-34 years (mean age 23.9 years); Mature people are 46-74 years old (average age 58.9 years). The study used a free associative experiment in which respondents distributed 45 photos of park landscapes from 18 world parks into three, equal in number, groups according to their own preferences and independently determined the factors that influenced the decision to refer them to the group of attractive, neutral or unattractive landscapes. Positive influence on aesthetic preferences was found on the part of historical buildings and structures on mature respondents, together with its neutral effect on young ones. At the same time, there was a neutral attitude of a group of mature respondents to the monuments of the Soviet era and a negative one on the part of the youth. Similar is the influence of abstract sculptures on the aesthetic perception of both young and mature respondents, which is negative. However, the negative impact of these elements on the aesthetic preferences of mature respondents is more significant. Summarizing the results of studies of aesthetic preferences and factors that influence their formation, it is advisable to note the importance of architectural components, as well as the importance of their ideological context. Along with the similarity of influence on aesthetic preferences of features of park environment, differences related to sociocultural influence on the formation of aesthetic experience were revealed due to the results of the analysis of the perception of architectural components.

Enhancing Audio Description: Inclusive Cinematic Experiences Through Sound Design

This paper explores the creation of an alternative to traditional Audio Description for visually impaired film and television audiences. The Enhanced Audio Description (EAD) methods utilise sound design as the main vehicle for accessibility and advocate for the integration of accessibility practices to filmmaking workflows. Moreover, this integrated strategy results in an organic form of accessibility that can cater for both visually impaired and sighted audiences, championing inclusive cinematic experiences. The present article reflects on the discussions held during focus groups in which mixed audiences of visually impaired and sighted people watched the same film, with the same EAD soundtrack over headphones. The discussions highlight the potential of the format as an example of universal design and accessible filmmaking, which can be enjoyed regardless of audience’s sight condition and can be offered alongside traditional Audio Description (AD) in order to cater for different aesthetic preferences. Lay summary Audio Description (AD) is a third person commentary added to film and television productions to make them accessible for visually impaired audiences. Traditionally, AD is added to productions after they have been completed, meaning that the creative and accessibility teams do not work together to produce the accessible version of the production. This paper explores an alternative to traditional AD, called Enhanced Audio Description (EAD), whose methods are integrated to filmmaking workflows. EAD moves away from a focus on verbal descriptions and instead focuses on sound design strategies. In EAD the traditional third person commentary is replaced by the combination of three techniques. The first is the addition of sound effects to provide information on actions, convey abstract scenes as well as indicate time, place, and the presence of characters. The second is the use of binaural audio (3D audio over headphones) to convey the position of characters and objects portrayed on the screen. Finally, first-person narration is used to portray feelings, gestures, colours as well as certain actions. The application of EAD methods results in a form of accessibility that can cater for both visually impaired and sighted audiences, championing inclusive cinematic experiences. Focus groups with audiences of visually impaired and sighted people demonstrated the potential of the format to be widely enjoyed, and to be offered alongside traditional Audio Description (AD) in order to provide accessible experiences which cater for different aesthetic preferences.

The Implicit Aesthetic Preference for Mobile Marketing Interface Layout—An ERP Study

Businesses and scholars have been trying to improve marketing effect by optimizing mobile marketing interfaces aesthetically as users browse freely and aimlessly through mobile marketing interfaces. Although the layout is an important design factor that affects interface aesthetics, whether it can trigger customer's aesthetic preferences in mobile marketing remains unexplored. To address this issue, we employ an empirical methodology of event-related potentials (EPR) in this study from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience and psychology. Subjects are presented with a series of mobile marketing interface images of different layouts with identical marketing content. Their EEG waves were recorded as they were required to distinguish a target stimulus from the others. After the experiment, each of the subjects chose five stimuli interfaces they like and five they dislike. By analyzing the ERP data derived from the EEG data and the behavioral data, we find significant differences between the disliked interfaces and the other interfaces in the ERP component of P2 from the frontal-central area in the 200–400 ms post-stimulus onset time window and LPP from both the frontal-central and parietal-occipital area in the 400–600 ms time window. The results support the hypothesis that humans do make rapid implicit aesthetic preferences for interface layouts and suggest that even under a free browsing context like the mobile marketing context, interface layouts that raise high emotional arousal can still attract more user attention and induce users' implicit aesthetic preference.