The Construction of Visual Complexity: Effects of Information, Emotion, and the Prior Familiarization

[eng] Introduction Visual complexity plays a crucial role in aesthetic appreciation and has been the focus of extensive research. Traditional studies in this field have relied on objective visual features such as the number of elements and their organizational structure within an image. Mathematical logic-based methods, including Kolmogorov complexity, entropy, and analysis of compressed file sizes, have been used to quantify visual complexity. Although these measures have proven effective in predicting perceived complexity, they fall short of fully capturing aesthetic appreciation, which is also significantly shaped by subjective factors. Content of the research This thesis aims to characterize how individuals construct representations of visual complexity by integrating subjective experience with objective features. We first reviewed cross-cultural studies on aesthetic appreciation to examine the consistency of complexity judgments across contexts. Our findings revealed significant cultural variability in complexity-related aesthetic preferences, highlighting a gap in understanding the underlying influencing factors. We then conducted empirical studies to explore how providing genre information and emotional valence in representational artworks affects visual complexity judgments. Results show that such contextual cues narrow the gap between perceived and depicted complexity. Furthermore, emotional valence significantly modulates perceived complexity: positive valence tends to decrease it, while negative valence increases it. To examine the role of prior experience, participants were exposed to images of low or high complexity before evaluating images of intermediate complexity. This pre-familiarization shifted their complexity judgments, with those previously exposed to low-complexity images rating moderate images as more complex. Conclusion Our findings indicate that genre information, emotional valence, and pre-familiarization not only influence perceived complexity but also clarify preferences and enhance understanding of artworks. Importantly, we show that liking mediates the relationship between complexity and understanding. This thesis broadens the research landscape by providing a more nuanced account of the dynamic interplay between objective and subjective factors in aesthetic perception.