Question 16- Describe And Evaluate 2 Examples Of Cultural Differences In Aesthetic Perception

Question 1

Colour preferences

Answer 1

-Ishii et al (2013):
•Japanese and American children and adults had to colour in triangles within squares, these were compared.
•Japanese used colours that weren’t bold and didn’t make any unique patterns
•Americans used bold colours and made unique patterns

Question 2

Argument of culture

Answer 2

• Japan is a collectivist culture, more inclined to help others before themselves and try not to be unique
• America is an individualistic culture, more inclined to put themselves first and try to be unique
• The colourings match these explanations

Question 3

Spatial composition

Answer 3

-Related with how people use and see the space in everyday life, such as in paintings

-Masuda et al (2008):
•Compared spatial composition in East Asian and European American individuals
•In one study, PPs asked to draw a picture of a house and a garden
~Results: Asians added more objects and details, used higher horizons compared to Americans
•Asian and American photographers were asked to edit pictures of a woman in different settings.
~Results: Americans zoomed more into the woman’s face and didn’t include as much background. Opposite results for Asians

Question 4

Cultural explanation

Answer 4

• Western cultures have a local bias, focus on details and the person
• Asian cultures have a global bias and focus more on the surroundings and collective
• Studies support the idea of cultural differences in aesthetic preference

Question 5

Caparos et al (2013)

Answer 5

• Himba that moved into town became more urbanised and their bias changed from more local to global
• To test the effects of culture on aesthetic perception it would be a good idea to test PPs that have moved from one culture to another to see how they perform in tasks similar to what has been discussed