Type of Art Expertise Matters: Practical Experts Show a Greater Curvature Preference for Three-Dimensional Shapes Than Theoretical Experts

초록

Among the single factors influencing aesthetic preference, curvature has robust empirical evidence across age, culture, and species. Recent studies have examined whether the preference for curvature extends to experts. Although it has been reported that experts also prefer curved shapes to angular ones, it remains unclear whether their degree of preference for curvature differs from that of nonexperts. The inconsistency might be because of variabilities in expert groups and types of stimuli. Here, we investigated whether experts prefer curvature over angularity and whether the degree of curvature preference differs across expert groups (i.e., nonexperts, practical experts, and theoretical experts). In addition, we examined whether the preference for curvature derives from the evaluation of stimulus curvature. We generated geometric three-dimensional (3D) shapes rendered by a parametric shape model, not limited to any specific domain of expertise. The curvature of 3D shapes was manipulated into five levels via linear interpolation. Participants viewed video clips of each 3D shape and rated their preference and the extent of curvature for each shape. Results showed that people generally prefer curved shapes, regardless of expertise groups, replicating previous findings. Of more relevance to our purpose, people with more practical expertise exhibited a greater preference for curved shapes, and this preference was associated with their evaluation of curvature. These results suggest that the degree of curvature preference varies depending on the presence and type of expertise, highlighting the importance of considering the expertise type when investigating its influence.

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