ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the emotional and meaningfulness components of aesthetics or beauty. These are important features that many viewers mention when looking at art. The modern psychology of emotion offers much to the study of aesthetics. Some theorists want to separate the emotion or pure joy of perceiving beauty from its cognitive underpinnings. Evolutionary psychology has a clear working definition that features natural selection leading to species survival. Martindale proposed a connectionist theory of beauty and aesthetic preference. Connectionist models are computer simulations of neural networks based upon patterns of brain activation. Appraisal approaches to describe emotional responses are sometimes referred to as cognitive-motivational-relational theories. Cognitive neuroscience and questionnaire studies have been designed to evaluate this theory linking more understanding or "processing fluency" to aesthetic pleasure. A comprehensive theory of aesthetic pleasure suggesting more understanding and familiarity with an artwork has a strong influence on the aesthetic value of that work.
