Balancing Art: The Effect of Paintings’ Conceptual Ambiguities on Postural Control

Joanna Ganczarek*, Karolina Pietras, Ralf F.A. Cox, Nicole Ruta

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

It has been shown that challenging contemporary art including conceptual ambiguities influences viewers’ preferences and eye movements. Here, we test whether such conceptual ambiguities (i.e., semantic violations and inconsistent titles) affect postural control. Research suggests that performing standard cognitive tasks influences postural control. However, the effects of challenging contemporary art on posture have never been studied before. We propose that semantic violations and inconsistent titles, two sources of conceptual ambiguities, should increase the perceived cognitive challenge and lead to a more stable and controlled posture. One hundred participants without formal art education viewed 20 paintings (10 with semantic violations and 10 without) in one of the three conditions: no titles, consistent titles, or inconsistent titles. Each painting was viewed for 25 s, while viewers’ postural control was recorded. After presentation of each image, participants assessed a given painting on six scales (understanding, complexity, ambiguity, being moved, drawn toward, and liking). We found that semantic violations and title inconsistency are challenging for the viewers. Moreover, semantic violations and the presence of titles (both consistent and inconsistent) were related to an increase in postural variability in the anterior-posterior direction. Inconsistent titles, on the other hand, were related to a lower variability in the medial-lateral direction and less postural control as evidenced by the recurrence quantification analysis. Similarly, perceived cognitive challenge was associated with lower postural variability and less postural control. Overall, the results suggest a close link between postural control and ongoing processing of semantic information.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPsychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 12-Dec-2024

Keywords

  • paintings
  • postural control
  • recurrence quantification analysis
  • semantic violations
  • titles

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