Investigating emotional perception in abstract art: The role of colour

Abstract

We conducted an experiment in which participants ranked ten abstract paintings based on six emotional descriptors according to the circumplex model of affect, which proposes that affective states derive from two fundamental neurophysiological systems, and that each emotion can be understood as a linear combination of these two systems. The sample consisted of 55 Brazilian participants (mean age = 31; SD = 1.1; 29 women), who met specific inclusion criteria regarding age, education, medical and ophthalmological conditions. To analyse the ranking data, we combined two psychophysical methods, effectively mapping absolute ranking data onto points within a unidimensional continuum. Correlations among the six emotional scales were assessed using Pearson's coefficient, revealing negative correlations for tense-calm, enthusiastic-depressive, and exciting-boring, and a positive correlation for exciting-enthusiastic. We analysed the colour structure of each painting in the CIE Lab colour space, deriving three colorimetric dimensions: ellipse area, axis ratio and hue angle. We conducted a Multiple Linear Regression to investigate statistical relationships between the colorimetric structure of the paintings and the emotional intensity. The regression shows a tendency for saturation (ellipse area) in influencing some emotions. Our results suggest that abstract paintings can be mentally categorised into emotional continua, with these continua displaying a logical interval organisation within opposing emotional dimensions. The lack of a relationship between colorimetric structure and the emotional intensity of the paintings suggests that colour may not significantly influence emotional judgment, while other elements and attributes within visual perception may play a more significant role and require further investigation.