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Students will be introduced to empirical aesthetics and learn how to critically assess the applied methods and research findings. They will be able to present their results in an oral presentation and written term paper according to current academic standards.

Aesthetic experiences are common in our daily lives. For example, the beauty of a landscape, a painting or a musical piece can induce positive emotions. What’s happening during these experiences in the human body? What are the affective and cognitive processes that lead to aesthetic experiences? What are the characteristics of aesthetic experiences in comparison to other experiences of our daily lives? The field of empirical aesthetics is among the oldest research fields in psychology and currently comprises the study of aesthetic experiences with a wide range of research methods. The following topics are covered in this course: historical overview of the research field, models of aesthetic experiences, methods in empirical aesthetics, visual aesthetics (art, architecture and body), musical aesthetics, as well as the latest developments in neuroaesthetics.

Lectures on specific topics will be given by the course lecturer. In small groups, students will then evaluate research articles and present their analysis in class, followed by plenary discussions. Furthermore, students will work together in groups and write a term paper on a self-chosen topic within one of the specific fields of empirical aesthetics.

oral presentation, short written test, seminar paper, participation in plenary discussions

Forschungsartikel werden in der LV bekanntgegeben.

Als begleitende Einführungsliteratur empfohlen:

Allesch, C. G. (2006). Einführung in die psychologische Ästhetik. Wien: Facultas.

Kebeck, G. & Schroll, H. (2011). Experimentelle Ästhetik. Wien: Facultas.