Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...

Visual Agnosia

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...

Structuralism

Structuralism

Structuralism, an early psychological theory developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his student Edward Bradford Titchener, sought to dissect the human mind into its most fundamental components. Wundt's groundbreaking work in his laboratory set the stage for Titchener to define structuralism's goal as cataloging the "atoms" of the mind—sensations, images, and feelings—akin to how chemists identify elements of matter.
Titchener's approach to structuralism was unique. He employed introspection, a method...

Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition

Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition

A revisionist approach to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has brought new insights that challenge and reinterpret his established ideas. Piaget proposed that the formal operational stage, emerging in adolescence, represents the culmination of cognitive maturity. During this stage, individuals are said to develop abstract thinking, engage in systematic problem-solving, and show a form of egocentrism, believing others are as preoccupied with their behavior as they are themselves.

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...

Natural and Artificial Concepts

Natural and Artificial Concepts

In psychology, concepts can be divided into two categories: natural and artificial. Natural concepts are formed through direct or indirect experiences. For example, consider the concept of snow. If you live in a place with regular snowfall, such as Essex Junction, Vermont, you know snow through direct experiences. You’ve seen it fall, touched it, shoveled it, and played in it. You recognize its texture, appearance, and even its smell. In contrast, if you live on an island like Saint Vincent in...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Engineered decellularized muscle extracellular matrix fabrics enable functional volumetric muscle loss repair.

Bioactive materials·2026

Same author

Correction: IL-22 inhibits ferroptosis and attenuates ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury: Association with activation of the P62-Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway.

PloS one·2026

Same author

Mechanically Regulated Nanozymes for Remote Metabolic Reprogramming and Precise Cancer Therapy.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Same author

Iron Porphyrin Catalysts Induce Stereospecific Glycosylation with Glycal Epoxides.

Synlett : accounts and rapid communications in synthetic organic chemistry·2026

Same author

Defect 3D reconstruction with integrated bright-field and dark-field structured illumination microscopy based on Att-PU-Net.

Applied optics·2026

Same author

Directional consistency of dark-field illumination for defect images.

Applied optics·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Investigating the Effect of Visual Imagery and Learning Shape-Audio Regularities on Bouba and Kiki

Investigating the Effect of Visual Imagery and Learning Shape-Audio Regularities on Bouba and Kiki

Published on: September 13, 2019

When the image loses its shape: a comparative study of college students' understanding pathways of abstract and

Shaowen Wang¹, Wenbin Li¹, Le Yin¹

¹Sichuan University Jinjiang College, Meishan, China.

Frontiers in Psychology

|June 3, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Context is key for understanding art. Art majors use context for symbolic reasoning, while non-art majors may rely on emotion or face comprehension barriers. This study offers new insights into art perception.

Keywords:

abstract art contextual factors figurative art mixed-methods pathways of understanding

More Related Videos

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Published on: November 2, 2012

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Investigating the Effect of Visual Imagery and Learning Shape-Audio Regularities on Bouba and Kiki

Investigating the Effect of Visual Imagery and Learning Shape-Audio Regularities on Bouba and Kiki

Published on: September 13, 2019

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Published on: November 2, 2012

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Art Education
Aesthetics

Background:

Art comprehension varies significantly between individuals with and without formal art training.
Existing models often lack a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between perception, emotion, and context in art interpretation.
College students represent a key demographic for studying developing aesthetic understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the distinct pathways of abstract and figurative art comprehension in art and non-art majors.
To develop and validate a mixed-methods model of art comprehension.
To identify the role of contextual factors in mediating art interpretation.

Main Methods:

A phased mixed-methods approach combining qualitative (interviews, thematic analysis) and quantitative (scale development, multi-group path analysis) techniques.
Development of a "perception-emotion-context-reasoning/narrative-interpretation" model.
Comparative analysis of the model across four scenarios: abstract/concrete art and art/non-art majors.

Main Results:

Contextual factors serve as a central hub influencing art comprehension for all students.
Art majors utilize context to foster abstract reasoning and narrative construction, leading to symbolic interpretations.
Non-art majors often exhibit emotion-driven or speculative interpretations, sometimes resulting in comprehension difficulties.

Conclusions:

Abstract art comprehension is facilitated by perception and emotion, elevated by context to a symbolic level.
Concrete art comprehension, supported by context, engages narrative and linguistic processing.
The study proposes pedagogical and exhibition strategies, including tiered contextual cues and narrative scaffolding, to enhance art appreciation and cognitive processing.