Preference for Curvature: A Historical and Conceptual Framework

That people find curved contours and lines more pleasurable than straight ones is a recurrent observation in the aesthetic literature. Although such observation has been tested sporadically throughout the history of scientific psychology, only during the last decade has it been the object of systematic research. Recent studies lend support to the idea that human preference for curved contours is biologically determined. However, it has also been argued that this preference is a cultural phenomenon. In this article, we review the available evidence, together with different attempts to explain the nature of preference for curvature: sensoriomotor-based and valuation-based approaches. We also argue that the lack of a unifying framework and clearly defined concepts might be undermining our efforts towards a better understanding of the nature of preference for curvature. Finally, we point to a series of unresolved matters as the starting point to further develop a consistent research program.This study was funded by research grants FFI2010-20759 and FFI2013-43270-P from the Spanish Government—Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (http://www.mineco.gob.es). GG-P was supported by the grant BES-2011-047441.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe

Common visual preference for curved contours in humans and great apes

This study was funded by research grants FFI2010-20759 and FFI2013-43270-P from the Spanish Government Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Gerardo Gomez-Puerto was supported by the grant BES-2011-047441.Among the visual preferences that guide many everyday activities and decisions, from consumer choices to social judgment, preference for curved over sharp-angled contours is commonly thought to have played an adaptive role throughout human evolution, favoring the avoidance of potentially harmful objects. However, because nonhuman primates also exhibit preferences for certain visual qualities, it is conceivable that humans' preference for curved contours is grounded on perceptual and cognitive mechanisms shared with extant nonhuman primate species. Here we aimed to determine whether nonhuman great apes and humans share a visual preference for curved over sharp-angled contours using a 2-alternative forced choice experimental paradigm under comparable conditions. Our results revealed that the human group and the great ape group indeed share a common preference for curved over sharp-angled contours, but that they differ in the manner and magnitude with which this preference is expressed behaviorally. These results suggest that humans' visual preference for curved objects evolved from earlier primate species' visual preferences, and that during this process it became stronger, but also more susceptible to the influence of higher cognitive processes and preference for other visual features.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Trust-Based Altruism Facing New Contexts: The Vyegwa-Gika Pygmies from Burundi

0204321The community of Pygmies settled in Vyegwa-Gika provides an exceptional case study to test the role of trust in the evolution of altruism. The Vyegwa-Gika Pygmies were forced to migrate from rainforests to the savanna, changing quickly their environment, culture, and socio-economic situation. Despite the high level of poverty they suffer in this new settlement, we found evidence of strong altruistic attitudes toward trustees when playing an economic game. In addition, Vyegwa-Gika Pygmies keep small personal trust networks despite the fact they share frequent social interactions within the community. These results indicate the great effectiveness of personal trust in fostering altruism, even if the circumstances make it difficult to establish such kind of affective bonds. A theory of the evolution of altruism should therefore also account for the evolution of psychology of trust, as a key element in the process.S

Measuring Paranormal Beliefs: Reconceptualization and Empirical Validation of the Paranormal Belief Construct

The Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) is the most widely-used tool for measuring beliefs in paranormal phenomena, although it is not free from criticism. Lindeman and Aarnio (2006) proposed an extended version of the RPBS with some improvements and a second-order hierarchical model to explain the structure of the scale. Our objective was to analyze the goodness of fit of the model and measurement invariance by sex in a Spanish sample. A sample of 6,584 participants completed the extended RPBS. After reversed items were removed, the model demonstrated an adequate fit, significant factor loadings and invariance between sexes. The results suggest the possibility of generalizing the RPBS to other cultures. Nonetheless, further research is needed to agree a precise definition of the concept of paranormal beliefs

Shape familiarity modulates preference for curvature in drawings of common-use objects

Drawing is a way to represent common-use objects. The contour of an object is a salient feature that defines its identity. Preference for a contour (curved or angular) may depend on how familiar the resulting shape looks for that given object. In this research, we examined the influence of shape familiarity on preference for curved or sharp-angled drawings of common-use objects. We also examined the possibility that some individual differences modulated this preference. Preference for curvature was assessed with a liking rating task (Experiment 1) and with a two-alternative forced-choice task simulating approach/avoidance responses (Experiment 2). Shape familiarity was assessed with a familiarity selection task where participants selected the most familiar shape between the curved and the angular version for each object, or whether both shapes were equally familiar for the object. We found a consistent preference for curvature in both experiments. This preference increased when the objects with a curved shape were selected as the most familiar ones. We also found preference for curvature when participants selected the shape of objects as equally familiar. However, there was no preference for curvature or preference for angularity when participants selected the sharp-angled shapes as the most familiar ones. In Experiment 2, holistic and affective types of intuition predicted higher preference for curvature. Conversely, participants with higher scores in the unconventionality facet showed less preference for the curved drawings. We conclude that shape familiarity and individual characteristics modulate preference for curvature

Aesthetic appreciation: event-related field and time-frequency analyses

Improvements in neuroimaging methods have afforded significant advances in our knowledge of the cognitive and neural foundations of aesthetic appreciation. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to register brain activity while participants decided about the beauty of visual stimuli. The data were analyzed with event-related field (ERF) and Time-Frequency (TF) procedures. ERFs revealed no significant differences between brain activity related with stimuli rated as “beautiful” and “not beautiful.” TF analysis showed clear differences between both conditions 400 ms after stimulus onset. Oscillatory power was greater for stimuli rated as “beautiful” than those regarded as “not beautiful” in the four frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta, and gamma). These results are interpreted in the frame of synchronization studies

Presence of tsunamis and storms boulders on the rocky shores of the Irta mountain range (el Baix Maestrat; País Valencià; Spain)

La costa de la península Ibèrica té pocs registres d'esdeveniments d'onatge extrem, tsunamis o tempestes. En aquest treball es presenta l'estudi morfomètric de diferents cordons litorals de blocs al llarg de les costes rocoses de la serra d'Irta (País Valencià). L'estudi ha localitzat sis ubicacions amb blocs d’un pes de 1.5 T de mitjana, que es troben a una distància mitjana de la línia de costa de 15.5 m i a una alçada mitjana de 2.3 m sobre el nivell de la mar. Es defineixen les àrees d'arrencada dels blocs, els seus patrons d'imbricació i una adreça predominant cap al 119.5º, coincident amb les direccions dels tsunamis procedents d'Algèria. A cada bloc se li apliquen les equacions de Nott i d’Engel & May per calcular les altures d'onada de tsunamis i tempestes capaços de generar aquests dipòsits, obtenint els valors de sobre elevació (run-up) per remoure cada bloc.The coast of the Iberian Peninsula has few records of extreme wave events, storms or tsunamis. In this work we present the morphometric study of some boulder ridges along the rocky coasts of the Irta mountain range (Valencian Country, East of Spain). The study has located six settings with boulders weighting 1.5 T in average, at an average distance from the coast line of 15.5 m and 2.3 m a.s.l. Boulder quarring areas have been identified, as well as their imbricate pattern, which is oriented to 119.5º. That is coincident with the directions of the tsunamis coming from Algeria. The equations of Nott and Engel & May have been applied to each block to calculate the run-up of tsunamis or storms capable of generating these deposits

The tsunami boulders on the rocky coast of the serra d’Irta (el Baix Maestrat): a LIG proposal (Site of Geological Interest)

Els tsunamis provocats pels terratrèmols a Algèria xoquen contra les costes de les illes Balears i de la península Ibèrica. A las costes rocoses de les serres d’Irta s’han identificat 6 àrees amb presència de blocs i cordons de blocs amb característiques sedimentàries pròpies dels fluxos de tsunamis. La ubicació, morfologia, morfometria, orientació i imbricació d’aquests camps de blocs constitueixen un tret geomorfològic característic de l’impacte d’un tsunami contra la costa. Atenent a les seues característiques i singularitat es proposen aquests emplaçaments com a Lloc d’Interès Geològic (LIG), ja que presenten un elevat interès científic, turístic i didàctic com exemples representatius de blocs de tsunamis a las costes rocoses de la Mediterrània occidental associats a esdeveniments d’alta energia.The tsunamis caused by the earthquakes in Algeria hit the coasts of the Balearic Islands and the Iberian Peninsula. On the rocky shores of the Irta mountains, 6 areas have been identified with the presence of boulders and bolulder of boulders with sedimentary characteristics typical of tsunamis flows. The location, morphology, morphometry, orientation and overlapping of these block fields constitute a characteristic geomorphological feature of the impact of a tsunami against the coast. In accordance with these characteristics and singularity, these sites are proposed as a Site of Geological Interest (LIG), as they present a high scientific, tourist and didactic interest as representative examples of tsunami blocks on the rocky coasts of the western Mediterranean associated to high energy events

The world can look better: enhancing beauty experience with brain stimulation

Aesthetic appreciation is part of our everyday life: it is a subjective judgment we make when looking at a painting, a landscape, or--in fact--at another person. Neuroimaging and electrophysiological evidence suggests that the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a critical role in aesthetic judgments. Here, we show that the experience of beauty can be artificially enhanced with brain stimulation. Specifically, we show that aesthetic appreciation of representational paintings and photographs can be increased by applying anodal (excitatory) transcranial direct current stimulation on the left DLPFC. Our results thus show that beauty is in the brain of the beholder, and offer a novel view on the neural networks underlying aesthetic appreciation

Laboratori virtual de psicologia bàsica: l'experiència com a clau de l'aprenentatge

El Laboratori Virtual de Psicologia Bàsica (LVPB) és una eina que acompanya l'estudiant en un recorregut a través d'experiments que s'han convertit en clàssics de la Psicologia Cognitiva. La plataforma reprodueix experiments provinents de l'estudi de l'atenció, l'emoció, el llenguatge, la memòria, la motivació, el pensament i la percepció. En cada experiment, l'LVPB presenta un text introductori amb alguns articles de referència on es van proposar per primera vegada aquests experiments. L'LVPB es basa en la plataforma d'aprenentatge electrònic Moodle, que permet que cada estudiant tingui el seu espai en el qual guardar les dades, els resultats i les anàlisis que hagi fet. Tota la interacció amb el sistema queda enregistrada i la pot consultar tant l'estudiant com el professorat en qualsevol moment. Això permet que l'LVPB es pugui utilitzar també com a eina d'avaluació del professor.El Laboratorio Virtual de Psicología Básica (LVPB) es una herramienta que acom-paña al estudiante en un recorrido a través de experimentos que se han convertidoen clásicos de la Psicología Cognitiva. La plataforma reproduce experimentos prove-nientes del estudio de la atención, la emoción, el lenguaje, la memoria, la motiva-ción, el pensamiento y la percepción.En cada experimento, el LVPB presenta un texto introductorio con algunos artí-culos de referencia donde se propusieron por primera vez estos experimentos.El LVPB se basa en la plataforma de aprendizaje electrónico Moodle, que permiteque cada estudiante tenga su espacio en el cual guardar los datos, los resultados ylos análisis que haya hecho. Toda la interacción con el sistema queda registrada y lapuede consultar tanto el estudiante como el profesorado en cualquier momento. Esopermite que el LVPB se pueda utilizar también como herramienta de evaluación delprofesor.The Virtual Basic Psychology Laboratory (VBPL) is a tool that accompanies thestudent on a journey through experiments that have become classics in the Cognitive Psychology field. The platform reproduces experiments from the study ofemotion, language, memory, motivation, thought and perception. In each experiment, the VBPL presents an introductory text with some articlesfor reference, where these experiments were suggested for the first time. The VBPL is based on the Moodle e-learning platform, which enables eachstudent to have their own space for saving the data, results and analysis that they haveproduced. All interaction with the system is recorded and can be consulted by boththe student and the teacher at any time. This also enables the VBPL to be used as anassessment tool by the teacher