Contrast effects in the response to art

Slides of traditional and abstract paintings were rated for either preference or complexity by 120 Ss following their earlier exposure to a contrasting series of slides of another type of art. Traditional art was liked more when it followed abstract art than when it was viewed after its own type of art. Abstract art, on the other hand, was liked less when it followed traditional art than when it followed the same type of art. Complexity judgments for both types of art, compared to their ratings without an earlier contrasting series, increased after seeing another type of art, although traditional art increased more than abstract art did. These findings were related to several theoretical approaches to cognition, general psychology, aesthetics, and the practical problems of art education. The research also illustrated that the humanistic content of experimental psychology can be broadened by including aesthetics and that experimental aesthetics can be liberalized by using slides showing real art.