Question 9- Discuss The Role Of Object Affordances In Aesthetic Preference

Question 1

What is object affordances?

Answer 1

-Refers to actions that match with the physical properties of an object
•E.g. when we see a tea cup the affordance is that we relate the handle to wanting to pick the cup up
•Seeing the handle automatically generates the action of picking the cup up

Question 2

Tucker and Ellis (1998)

Answer 2

-Investigated objects with graspable handles (e.g. teapot, frying pan) and the effects of presenting them upright or inverted
•PPs would have to respond with their left or right hand in one experiment, and then their middle or index finger in another experiment

-Results:
•Seeing an object automatically triggers the actions that we are used to performing on them
•There are congruency effects, PPs were quicker at responding if the object was inverted or upright when the handle was on the same side as the reponse

Question 3

Tucker and Ellis (1998) - Evaluation

Answer 3

-Doesn’t indicate aesthetic preferences, instead indicating the role of motor responses in object affordances

Question 4

Sammartino and Palmer (2012)

Answer 4

-Investigated the object’s affordance space

-Results:
•The PPs had preferences of where they liked the objects we use in everyday life
~PPs preferred a picture of a bowl when it was lower in the scene compared to higher, whereas they preferres to look at a ceiling light when it was higher in the scene compared to lower

-Results suggest object affordance (and its space) is also influential in aesthetic preference
•One reason: used to seeing a bowl below and a light fixture above, seeing the objects in their usual spaces activates the associations with the objects, doesn’t violate expectations