TY - JOUR
T1 - Balancing Art
T2 - The Effect of Paintings’ Conceptual Ambiguities on Postural Control
AU - Ganczarek, Joanna
AU - Pietras, Karolina
AU - Cox, Ralf F.A.
AU - Ruta, Nicole
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Psychological Association
PY - 2024/12/12
Y1 - 2024/12/12
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - paintings
KW - postural control
KW - recurrence quantification analysis
KW - semantic violations
KW - titles
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85213521966&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/aca0000717
DO - 10.1037/aca0000717
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85213521966
SN - 1931-3896
JO - Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
JF - Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
ER -