The Sublime, an empirical investigation

The sublime has occupied a special space in aesthetic theory since Burke’s classic A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful of 1757, referring to a group of aesthetic experiences associated with magnitude and power. Despite recent use of the term in general psychology, there is a lack of empirical characterisation of the sublime, especially in relation to beauty. Our exploratory work addresses these issues: (1) to understand the physical characteristics of items judged as sublime, (2) to understand underlying emotional and cognitive factors of the sublime and (3) to understand the role of individual differences. Study 1 was an image rating task in which participants rated a wide range of natural images on their degree of the sublime and beauty. Study 2 was a word-association task, with words taken from a corpus of aesthetic-related and sublime-related adjectives/phrases being rated in terms of their perceived associations with the sublime and the beautiful. Results demonstrate that there are physical and psychological properties associated uniquely with the sublime, and that individual differences may play an important role. The current results provide insight into the literature of the sublime, and have implications on recent trends of emotional and environmental psychology

The Great Beauty; the effects of presentation size and height of photographs on sublimity perception

The sublime remains one of the most enduring aesthetic concepts in Western aesthetic discourse, and is portrayed often – most notably in Edmund Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful from 1759 – as an aesthetic delight that evokes emotions of fear and shock. In two studies (Ns = 32 & 39), we explored the role of three physical characteristics often attributed central to an object that elicits feelings of sublimity, namely size (large vs. small), height (high vs. central) and colour (in colour vs. in black and white), in influencing ratings of sublimity in a large number of photographs (60 stimuli in each study). We report that after controlling for by-subject and by-item variations, as well as ratings of beauty, i.e. pleasure, the increase of size and height of presented objects were associated with significant increases of their sublimity ratings. Colour, while it did not influence ratings of sublimity, influenced ratings of beauty. Based on these results, we propose the selective influence of physical presentation forms on aesthetic perception. Burke, E. (2009). A philosophical inquiry into the origins of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful. Oxon, UK: Routledge Classics. (Original work published 1759)

Perceiving sublimity and beauty in photographs: influences of physical properties

The sublime remains one of the most enduring aesthetic concepts in Western aesthetic discourse, and is often described, notably in Edmund Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful of 1759, as an aesthetic delight that evokes emotions of fear and shock. In three studies (total N ≈ 100) each containing 60 pre-selected photographs, we explored the role of physical aspects of images upon perceptions of sublimity and beauty. Participants rated beauty and sublimity by responding on a two-dimensional grid so that both properties were reported simultaneously. We particularly wanted to manipulate size, with the largest images projected onto a laboratory wall and being 200 cms x 150 cms in size. We compared absolute size (large vs. small), viewing distance (far vs. close), visual angle, height (high vs. central) and colour (vs monochrome), and found a number of double dissociations. The design and analysis treated both participants and images as random effects using lmer() in R. After controlling for by-subject and by-item variations, increase of stimuli size was associated with a significant increase of sublimity rating but not beauty rating. On the other hand, colour in an image influenced the rating of beauty but not sublimity. We are also carrying out analyses of images varying in brightness and contrast to assess effects on sublimity and beauty. Burke, E. (2009). A philosophical inquiry into the origins of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful. Oxon, UK: Routledge Classics. (Original work published 1759)

Differentiating the Visual Aesthetics of the Sublime and the Beautiful: Selective Effects of Stimulus Size, Height, and Color on Sublimity and Beauty Ratings in Photographs

Despite the philosophical literature concerning the sublime and the beautiful, dating back to Burke (1759/2008), there is still limited empirical evidence regarding the visual aesthetics of sublimity and beauty. The present article asks whether the manner in which photographs are presented can alter the perception of the sublimity and beauty ratings of these photographs. In a set of studies, it is reported that the increase of presentation size increases sublimity more than beauty (Study 1) and that this is mainly driven by the effects of visual angle (Study 3). While increasing presentation height affects both sublimity and beauty positively and in similar degrees (Study 1), the presence of color (vs. black and white [monochrome]) is predominantly related to judgments of beauty (Study 2). Brightness and contrast levels affected neither sublimity nor beauty (Study 3). An important methodological point is that all inferential statistics use linear mixed models, which treat both participants and stimuli as random effects. In addition, each participant receives different random subsets of stimuli, increasing the size of the stimulus set. Overall, the analyses incorporate 233 photographs and 245 participants in total, which allows the generalizability of findings. Sublimity and beauty respond differentially to different presentational cues, which demonstrates the importance of simultaneously considering sublimity and beauty in empirical studies on aesthetic judgments

A longitudinal examination of perinatal testosterone, estradiol and vitamin D as predictors of handedness outcomes in childhood and adolescence

The developmental origins of handedness remain elusive, though very early emergence suggests individual differences manifesting in utero could play an important role. Prenatal testosterone and Vitamin D exposure are considered, yet findings and interpretations remain equivocal. We examined n = 767 offspring from a population-based pregnancy cohort (The Raine Study) for whom early biological data and childhood/adolescent handedness data were available. We tested whether 18-week maternal circulatory Vitamin D (25[OH]D), and testosterone and estradiol from umbilical cord blood sampled at birth predicted variance in direction of hand preference (right/left), along with right- and left-hand speed, and the strength and direction of relative hand skill as measured by a finger-tapping task completed at 10 (Y10) and/or 16 (Y16) years. Although higher concentrations of Vitamin D predicted more leftward and less lateralized (regardless of direction) relative hand skill profiles, taken as a whole, statistically significant findings typically did not replicate across time-point (Y10/Y16) or sex (male/female) and were rarely detected across different (bivariate/multivariate) levels of analysis. Considering the number of statistical tests and generally inconsistent findings, our results suggest that perinatal testosterone and estradiol contribute minimally, if at all, to subsequent variance in handedness. Vitamin D, however, may be of interest in future studies

Pupil mental health, concerns and expectations about secondary school as predictors of adjustment across the transition to secondary school: A longitudinal multi-informant study

The transition from primary to secondary schooling is challenging and involves a degree of apprehension. The extent to which pre-existing mental health difficulties, as well as pupil, parent, and teacher concerns and expectations about secondary school predict adaptation to secondary school, is unclear. In a three wave, prospective longitudinal study, we examined associations between pre-transition concerns and expectations about moving to secondary school with mental health difficulties and demographic factors. We then evaluated whether these constructs predicted multiple indicators of adaptive pupil functioning at the end of the first year of secondary school (academic attainment, classmate behaviour rating, school liking and loneliness at school). We found children’s concerns reduced across the transition period. Concurrent associations were identified between both concerns about secondary school and lower parent and teacher expectations that children would settle in well at secondary school, with mental health difficulties and special educational needs. Investigating associations with multiple indicators of adaptive functioning at secondary school, multivariable regression analyses controlling for a range of baseline factors (e.g. special educational needs), found children’s concerns about secondary school to be specifically associated with loneliness. In contrast, children’s mental health difficulties and both parent and teacher expectations of how well children would settle into secondary school were associated with a wider range of indicators of adaptive functioning at secondary school. When examining all predictors simultaneously, primary school teacher expectations showed longitudinal association with a wide range of indicators of successful transition. These findings suggest that assessing primary school teacher expectations may be useful for monitoring and supporting pupils through this transition period and could usefully inform school-based interventions to support transition and mental health

Cohort Profile: The United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH)

The UK-REACH cohort was established to understand why ethnic minority healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of poorer outcomes from COVID-19 when compared with their White ethnic counterparts in the UK. Through study design, it contains a uniquely high percentage of participants from ethnic minority backgrounds about whom a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data have been collected. A total of 17 891 HCWs aged 16–89 years (mean age: 44) have been recruited from across the UK via all major healthcare regulators, individual National Health Service hospital trusts and UK HCW membership bodies who advertised the study to their registrants/staff to encourage participation in the study. Data available include linked healthcare records for 25 years from the date of consent and consent to obtain genomic sequencing data collected via saliva. Online questionnaires include information on demographics, COVID-19 exposures at work and home, redeployment in the workforce due to COVID-19, mental health measures, workforce attrition and opinions on COVID-19 vaccines, with baseline (n = 15 119), 6 (n = 5632) and 12-month follow-up (n = 6535) data captured. Request data access and collaborations by following documentation found at https://www.uk-reach.org/main/data_sharing

The effect of a brief social intervention on the examination results of UK medical students: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background: Ethnic minority (EM) medical students and doctors underperform academically, but little evidence exists on how to ameliorate the problem. Psychologists Cohen et al. recently demonstrated that a written self-affirmation intervention substantially improved EM adolescents' school grades several months later. Cohen et al.'s methods were replicated in the different setting of UK undergraduate medical education.Methods: All 348 Year 3 white (W) and EM students at one UK medical school were randomly allocated to an intervention condition (writing about one's own values) or a control condition (writing about another's values), via their tutor group. Students and assessors were blind to the existence of the study. Group comparisons on post-intervention written and OSCE (clinical) assessment scores adjusted for baseline written assessment scores were made using two-way analysis of covariance. All assessment scores were transformed to z-scores (mean = 0 standard deviation = 1) for ease of comparison. Comparisons between types of words used in essays were calculated using t-tests. The study was covered by University Ethics Committee guidelines.Results: Groups were statistically identical at baseline on demographic and psychological factors, and analysis was by intention to treat [intervention group EM n = 95, W n = 79; control group EM n = 77; W n = 84]. As predicted, there was a significant ethnicity by intervention interaction [F(4,334) = 5.74; p = 0.017] on the written assessment. Unexpectedly, this was due to decreased scores in the W intervention group [mean difference = 0.283; (95% CI = 0.093 to 0.474] not improved EM intervention group scores [mean difference = -0.060 (95% CI = -0.268 to 0.148)]. On the OSCE, both W and EM intervention groups outperformed controls [mean difference = 0.261; (95% CI = -0.047 to -0.476; p = 0.013)]. The intervention group used more optimistic words (p < 0.001) and more "I" and "self" pronouns in their essays (p < 0.001), whereas the control group used more "other" pronouns (p < 0.001) and more negations (p < 0.001).Discussion: Cohen et al.'s finding that a brief self-affirmation task narrowed the ethnic academic achievement gap was replicated on the written assessment but against expectations, this was due to reduced performance in the W group. On the OSCE, the intervention improved performance in both W and EM groups. In the intervention condition, participants tended to write about themselves and used more optimistic words than in the control group, indicating the task was completed as requested. The study shows that minimal interventions can have substantial educational outcomes several months later, which has implications for the multitude of seemingly trivial changes in teaching that are made on an everyday basis, whose consequences are never formally assessed