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Updated: May 12, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
Published on: November 30, 2018
Aesthetic issues in spatial composition: representational fit and the role of semantic context
Jonathan Sammartino1, Stephen E Palmer
1Department of Psychology, University of California-Berkeley, 3210 Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. jonathansammartino@gmail.com
Abstract:
Previous research on aesthetic preference for spatial compositions has shown robust, systematic preferences for object locations within frames and for object perspectives. In the present experiment, we show that these preferences can be dramatically altered by changing the contextual meaning of an image through pairing it with different titles, as predicted by a theoretical account in terms of "representational fit". People prefer standard (default) compositions with a neutral title that merely describes the content of the picture (eg side-view of a plane with the title "Flying") but nonstandard compositions when they "fit" a title with compatible spatial implications (eg rear-view of a plane with the title "Departing"). The results are discussed in terms of their implications for theories based on representational fit versus perceptual and conceptual fluency and with their implications for classic aesthetic accounts in terms of preference for novelty through violating expectations.
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