Skip to main content
. 2016 Apr 26;10:160. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00160

Table 2.

Models of art experience and noted Outputs.

PART 1
Model Basic affect/body Information processing perception
Affect (positive emotion) Physiology (heart rate, skin conductance) Action (physical/eye movement, gesture) Appraisal Meaning (meaning-making) Novelty (change/adjustment in perception)
Chatterjee
Early + Intermediate processing
Primarily tied to visual processing experience and successful classification, identification and understanding. (?) Aesthetic experiences can enhance cortical sensory processing. (?) Aesthetic experiences can enhance cortical sensory processing and thus eye movement. Primarily tied to visual processing experience and successful classification, identification and understanding. Result of processing of objects, extraction of prototypes, connection to memory, and final decision. (?) Aesthetic experiences can enhance cortical sensory processing and thus new attention.
Locher et al.
Early + Intermediate processing
(?) Outcome of visual processing and integration of information with memory. (Eye movement). Driven by initial pre-conscious processing for gist followed by detailed assessment and influenced by object qualities and viewer personality/expertise. Outcome of visual processing and integration of information with memory. Outcome of visual processing and integration of information with memory. (?) Possible outcome of augmented information and feedback from art processing to memory/personal context.
Leder et al.
Early, Intermediate, Late processing
Primarily tied to intellectual/processing experience and successful mastery or understanding. Primarily tied to intellectual/processing experience and successful mastery or understanding. Through classification and implicit memory integration. (?) May result from feedback at evaluation stage.
Silvia et al.
Intermediate, Late processing
From combination of processing for collative properties from matching of art and schema (and resulting assessment for goal congruence and relevance) and coping potential. (?) From combination of processing for goal congruence and relevance) and coping potential. (?) Action tendencies (fight/flight, avoidance): from combination of processing for goal congruence and relevance) and coping potential. From combination of processing for collative properties from matching of art and schema (and resulting assessment for goal congruence and relevance) and coping potential. Primarily tied to intellectual matching of stimuli to schema, typically in high coping contexts, with resulting reflection and motivated by “knowledge emotion.” (?) Presumably tied to mismatches between schema and art (low congruency) with sufficient coping and goal relevance.
Pelowski
Intermediate, Late processing
Determined by relative stage and type of self-engagement/self protection. Classed into three main outcomes: little emotion, negative emotion in secondary control, highly positive. Determined by stage and type of self-engagement/self protection. Classed into three outcomes: little response, sympathetic fight/flight reaction in secondary control, parasympathetic response in aesthetic phase. Need to leave, fidget, clap, talk may be tied to self protection strategies in Abortive outcome (Secondary control). Determined by relative stage and type of self-engagement/self protection. Classed into three main outcomes: facile, negative, highly positive. Brought about by creation of new schema (self image) via previous process of facing and overcoming discrepancy. Allows one to reset engagement with new schema allowing novel ideas/concepts. Brought about by creation of new schema (self image) via previous process of facing and overcoming discrepancy. Allows one to reset engagement with new schema allowing novel perception.
Cupchik
Early, Intermediate, Late processing
Result of: (1) analytical/ schema-based processing of content, leading to primary “category” type emotions (happy, sad…) and (2) holistic/experiential processing leading to “dimension” type emotions relating to hedonic affect. Result of reactive/aesthetic mode. Based initially on assessed complexity or ease of processing. Result of reflective/pragmatic mode. Based on later integration of context, viewer and work. (?) Potentially result of: (1) sudden new view of things/revelation via “aesthetic middle.” (2) Adaptation via reflection on personally-related emotion.
PART 2
Art-specific/highly notable reactions Longitudinal/contextual impact
Transcendence (epiphany, feeling of transcendence) Aesthetic “Aesthetic” contemplation (detached, harmony) Negative (negative affect/emotion) Self Adjustment (changed self, relation to art, growth) Social (socio-cultural adjustment) Health (overall wellness, reduced stress etc.)
Chatterjee (?) Intermediate processing of compelling or pleasing qualities (symmetry, balance, content) may engage frontal-parietal attention circuits, which may lead to “a feed forward system,” in which object attributes engage attention, and attention enhances processing, leading to heightened engagement/pleasure. (?) Primarily tied to unsuccessful visual processing experience. (?) Result of aesthetic experience brought about by making special. Result of aesthetic experience brought about by making special, causing social cohesion.
Locher et al.
Leder et al. (?) May result from feedback at evaluation stage. Derived from highly successful mastery experience. (?) May result from feedback at evaluation stage. (?) May result from feedback at evaluation stage. (?) Possibly outcome of positive mastery experience.
Silvia et al. From low congruency plus a felt “deliberate trespass” (Silvia, 2009) against goals and values (low coping). Primarily tied to intellectual matching of stimuli to schema, typically in high coping contexts, with resulting reflection and motivated by “knowledge emotion.”
Pelowski Brought about by creation of new schema (self image) via previous process of facing and overcoming discrepancy. Coincides with final “aesthetic phase” of latency following change. Brought about by creation of new schema (self image) via previous process of facing and overcoming discrepancy. Coincides with final “aesthetic phase” of latency following change. Result of self-protectionary actions in secondary control stage. Negative emotions/evaluations are used to minimize danger to expectations/self. Brought about by creation of new schema (self image) via previous process of facing and overcoming discrepancy. May cause positive adjustment with specific work and general class of art. Relation between self and art or artists may be changed depending on abortive (Negative change) or transformative (positive) outcome. May involve hedonic and potency assessments. Transformative outcome may cause new art interest.
Cupchik (?) Potentially result of: (1) sudden new view of things/revelation via “aesthetic middle.” (2) Adaptation via reflection on personally-related emotion. When a work “expressively embodies a person's sense of identity” leads to suspension of perception of time “in which the person and the work become one.” Based on: (1) difficulty in understanding or initially processing, leading to hedonic aversion through reactive/aesthetic mode, (2) “under-distancing,” where art is to close to one's self, or (3) negative emotional content as processed in the reflective mode. Result of: (1) primary emotions experienced through reflective mode and “emotional elaboration” where person searches for underlying layers of meaning. (2) bond created between person/work via “aesthetic middle.” (?) Potentially result of return to homeostasis as result of successful aesthetic engagement.

Output descriptions based on authors' published models and related publications. Factors preceded by a question mark (?) were not specifically mentioned by the authors, but were proposed by the present paper.