ABSTRACT
Experimentalpsychologistshavestudiedaestheticssincethe1870s(Valentine 1962),butuntilrecentlytheirworkwasalmostwhollyconcernedwithart formsratherthanlandscapes.Inareviewofworkaccomplishedby1960 Dickie(1962,1971)assertedthatpsychologywasoflittlerelevanceto traditionalaestheticsbecause:ithadthrownlittlelightonthemeaningof aestheticexperience;ithadthrownlesslightonthenatureofaesthetic creation;andhadshedstilllesslightontheproblemofassessingaesthetic worth.Dickieconcludedthat,intheassessmentofaestheticartifacts,we shouldfallbackupontheopinionsofhighlysensitive,trainedaesthetic expertsrenownedfortheirtaste.Intermsoftheassessmentoflandscapes,a similarviewhasbeenexpressedbysomeplanners(seeChapter5).
