Sensation seeking and reactions to nature paintings

Person. nr&vid. Du Vol . 15, No. 5, pp . 563-576, 1993

0191-8869/93 $6 .00+0.00

Printed in Great Britain

Pergamon Press Ltd

SENSATION SEEKING AND REACTIONS TO NATURE PAINTINGS MARVIN ZUCKERMAN,' ROGER S . ULIUCHZ and JOHN MCLAUGHLIN'

'Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 197162577 and 'College of Architecture, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137, U .S .A . (Received 14 August 1992; received for publication 7 April 1993)

Summary-Two studies were done comparing the preferences of high and low sensation seekers for nature paintings representing different styles. The paintings had been previously rated for qualities of complexity and tension. Factor analyses established five stylistic categories among the paintings . In both studies high sensation seekers had a relatively greater liking for high tension paintings whereas the lows had a relatively greater liking for low tension paintings . In both studies high sensation seekers had a relatively greater liking for expressionist style paintings, and in the second study the lows had a greater preference for the realistic, low tension pastoral scenes than the high sensation seekers . Men liked complex, high tension, realistic paintings more than women did . Complexity did not interact with personality, but was subordinate to other qualities of the paintings . High sensation seekers like tension evoking paintings and are more tolerant of ambiguity in style than low sensation seekers .

From the time of the prehistoric cave paintings to the present, art has been used to represent nature within the context of the artist's vision, and by doing so to give us a sense of mastery, understanding or control . Pablo Picasso said that painting is "a form of magic designed as a mediator between this strange hostile world and us, a way of seizing the power by giving form to our terrors as well as our desires ." But artists may give us any of several visions of nature . They may show us the tame, calm, innocuous, peaceful view, or the wild, tense, dangerous, destructive one . They may portray nature in well ordered, simple, and recognizable forms or in chaotic, complex, and chimeric ones . The appeal of these different visions of nature may depend in part upon those individual differences which we call personality traits . During the last 20 years, scores of empirical studies on affective reactions to nature have been performed in fields such as environmental psychology, landscape architecture, and human geography (e .g . Kaplan, Kaplan & Wendt, 1972 ; Ulrich, 1986) . Most studies have assessed liking (preference) or other affective responses to such simulations of real nature as photographs, color slides, and realistic sketches . Many studies have found that there can be a rather high level of similarity in reactions to nature pictures across groups that vary, for instance, in age, income, and even culture (e .g. Hull & Revelle, 1989) . Investigators using psychophysiological approaches have reported that 50-70% of the variance in affective ratings of slides or photographs of natural landscapes is "in the pictures" (e .g . Brown & Daniel, 1984). There is a conspicuous lack of research on the possible role of personality traits in accounting for some of the remaining variability in reactions to nature or its portrayals . Researchers have given little attention to personality in studies of nature art . The studies reported in this article represent an attempt to describe individual differences in reactions to the representations of nature by 19th and some early 20th century artists . In particular, this work deals with the personality trait of sensation seeking (Zuckerman, 1979) in relation to affective reactions (liking) to landscapes and seascapes representing nature in its various moods through a variety of painting styles . The period of the paintings includes naturalist, romantic, impressionist and expressionist styles . Factor analysis was used to group the pictures on empirical criteria rather than conventional art history categories . Sensation seeking is a trait of obvious relevance for reactions to art and nature . The trait is defined by " . . . the need for varied, novel, and complex sensations and experiences and the willingness to take physical and social risks for the sake of such experiences" (Zuckerman, 1979, p . 10) . This definition already suggests some of the attributes that might distinguish the paintings liked by high and low sensation seekers . Complexity, novelty, and tension are qualities of stimuli

563

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MARVIN ZUCKERMAN e( a!.

that Berlyne (1971) characterized as contributing to "arousal potential" . Since sensation seekers are persons who value arousal in their daily life activities and friends (Zuckerman, 1979), it would not be surprising if they judged artistic portrayals of nature by the same criteria . Form V of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS, Zuckerman, Eysenck & Eysenck, 1978) contains a Total scale and 4 subscales based on factor analyses of items done in England and America . Three of the subscales represent different forms of sensation seeking. The one most relevant to art is called Experience Seeking and represents the seeking of sensation through the mind and senses as well as through an unconventional life style with unconventional friends . Thrill and Adventure Seeking describes the desire to seek sensation through exciting, unusual, and sometimes risky physical activities like skydiving . Disinhibition describes the seeking of sensation through social stimulation, partying, drinking, and sexual activity . The final factor is Boredom Susceptibility and represents a low threshold for boredom and restlessness when exciting or varied stimulation is not present in the environment . Separate analyses for each of the subscales would be confusing and difficult to interpret . Since our interest is in the general trait of sensation seeking, only analyses based on the SSS Total scale will be discussed in this article . The validity of these scales has been demonstrated in many activities and preferences including : risky sports, reactions to sensory deprivation, gambling, sexual experience, love and marital relations, drug use, smoking, food preferences, and perceptual and cognitive styles (Zuckerman, 1979, 1983) . At another level the trait has been shown to have a strong genetic component (Fulker, Eysenck & Zuckerman, 1980) and a variety of psychophysiological and biochemical correlates (Zuckerman, 1990; Zuckerman, Buchsbaum & Murphy, 1980) . A series of biological motivational models have been postulated to explain individual differences in the trait (Zuckerman, 1969, 1979, 1984) . The reactions of sensation seekers to simple stimuli and the media have been summarized elsewhere (Zuckerman, 1988) . Sensation seekers have a preference for complexity in simple polygons (Griffin, 1972; Looft & Baranowski, 1971) and more complex designs (Zuckerman, Bone, Neary, Mangelsdorff & Brustman, 1972) . Osborne and Farley (1970), however, were unable to find a relationship between the SS General scale and preferences for complexity in paintings . These negative results could have been due to a restriction in the range of paintings (only 4 artists were represented) and the special education of the subjects (half were graduate students in art history) . Training in art history is likely to change one's "natural" tastes in art . Apart from complexity, other structural factors in paintings may affect preferences of high and low sensation seekers . Zuckerman et al. (1972) found that in the Welsh (1959) figure preference test, the high sensation seekers liked designs that were complex, asymmetrical, sketchy, shaded, and sometimes vaguely suggestive of animate beings . The low sensation seekers liked more simple, symmetrical designs . In terms of content, high sensation seekers are attracted to films or events that portray explicit sex or violence (Schierman & Rowland, 1985 ; Zuckerman & Litle, 1986) . This could be translated into a liking for paintings that portray nature in its violent forms . Furnham and Bunyan (1988) reported a study on the relationship between sensation seeking and four categories of paintings, established first on rational grounds and then verified through factor analysis . The categories were : (1) simple-representational ; (2) complex-representational ; (3) simpleabstract ; (4) complex-abstract . Complexity alone was not a determinant of the art preferences of sensation seekers in this study; it was the combination of complexity with abstractness that differentiated high and low sensation seekers. The Total score on the SSS V correlated positively with a liking for the complex-abstract paintings and negatively with liking for the complex-representational paintings. Tobacyk, Myers and Bailey (1981) factor analyzed responses to 40 paintings and found 7 factors including six associated with the paintings of particular artists and one with aggressive content . High sensation seekers, contrasted with lows, preferred paintings by three abstract painters (Olitski, Boccioni & Pollock) and the paintings with aggressive themes . This study indicates that the arousal value of the content of representational paintings may also influence the preferences of high sensation seekers. This conclusion is supported by the study of Zaleski (1984) which used representational pictures that had been rated for the emotional arousal value of the content . The rating scale ranged from very positively arousing to very negatively arousing images (such as scenes of torture, hanging, and corpses) . Low sensation seekers liked the positively arousing pictures the



Sensation seeking and reactions to nature paintings

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most and the negatively arousing pictures the least with the more neutral, nonarousing pictures intermediate in liking . But high sensation seekers liked the more arousing pictures, regardless of whether their content was negative or positive, more than the neutral pictures. In fact among the men a majority of the high sensation seekers actually preferred the negative arousing pictures more than the positive arousing ones . For high sensation seekers the arousal value seemed to be more important than the positivity or negativity of the content in the pictures . These findings are consistent with the high sensation seekers liking, and the low sensation seekers disliking, of morbid, violent, or explicitly sexual themes in movies, television and other media (Zuckerman & Litle, 1986) . In view of the theory of sensation seeking as based on optimal levels of stimulation and arousal it was expected that high sensation seekers would like paintings characterized by complexity and abstractness, or by content or structural characteristics which produce tension . Portrayals of violent expressions of nature should be liked more by high sensation seekers than peaceful, calm expressions . Low sensation seekers, in contrast, were expected to prefer nature paintings which are realistic, simple, and contain no tension producing elements .

STUDY

I

Method

An initial collection of 85 slides of 19th and early 20th century American and European nature paintings, incorporating a variety of artists and styles, were rated for simplicity-complexity on a 9-point scale by a group of trained judges from a graduate seminar in environmental aesthetics . Another group of 22 judges, students in an upper-level Behavioral Geography course, rated the tension levels they perceived in the paintings . The reliabilities were high for both groups of judges . Mean ratings of the judges were used to define the qualities of complexity and tension in each of the paintings . On the basis of these ratings, 52 slides were selected to cover the full range of the two dimensions . The 52 slides were presented to 84 male and 135 female undergraduates from courses in psychology and geography who had been pretested on the SSS, form V . the Ss indicated their relative liking for each painting on a I to 5 rating scale : 1 . like not at all ; 2 . like slightly; 3. like somewhat; 4. like ; 5 . like very much . Ss were also asked how many courses in art history they had taken. Results Liking in relation to complexity and tension of paintings

The sample was divided as close to the medians on the Total SSS as possible for males and females and the mean preferences ratings for each slide in high and low SS groups within each gender group was correlated with the judges' mean ratings of complexity and tension for the 52 slides . These correlations are shown in Table 1 . For both high and low sensation seekers of both genders the mean liking ratings correlated positively with ratings of complexity and negatively with ratings of tension . Ss liked the more complex and less tense paintings more than the less complex and more tense paintings . The correlation between complexity and liking were somewhat higher in the men and the correlations between tension and liking were somewhat higher in the women, Table 1 . Correlations of mean complexity and tension ratings of paintings with mean liking ratings for 52 paintings Complexity High sensation seekers Low sensation seekers Tension High sensation seekers Low sensation seekers -P < 0 .01 ; •s P < 0 .001 .

Males

Females

0 .52" 0 .49 • •

0 .38' 0.40 •

-0 .36 • -0 .43'

-0.57-0.55--



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MAxvlN ZuclxsRMAN el al. Table 2. Mean liking ratings of male and female high and low sensation seekers at each level of painting complexity Males

Females

Complexity

Low SS

High SS

r

Low SS

High Ss

r

Low Medium High 'P < 0 .05 .

2.10 2.86 3 .61

2 .45 3 .07 3 .95

2 .18' 2 .10' 2 .04'

2 .24 2 .91 3 .47

2 .52 2 .91 3 .48

2 .02' 0.0 0.96

Table 3. Mean liking ratings of male and female high and low sensation seekers at each level of painting tension Males Tension Low Medium High

Low 5S 3 .02 3 .06 2.45

Females

High 5S 3 .20 3 .35 2 .82

r 1 .38 2 .61" 2 .17'

Low S5 3 .15 . 3 .09 2 .37

High 5S 3 .13 3 .17 2 .47

I

0.17 0.76 0.72

'P < 0 .05; "P < 0.01 .

but the correlations in high and low sensation seeking groups within each sex were almost exactly the same . Complexity

The complexity and tension ratings were used to divide the paintings into three ranges on each of these ratings . The mean liking ratings of high and low sensation seekers were compared at each level of complexity as shown in Table 2 . Among the males, high sensation seekers had higher ratings of liking than low sensation seekers at all levels of complexity . The female high sensation seekers had significantly greater liking for the low complexity paintings but did not differ from the lows on the medium or high complexity paintings . Tension

Table 3 shows the mean liking scores for high and low sensation seekers at the three levels of tension. High sensation seekers did not differ significantly from lows for the paintings judged to be low in tension, but the highs liked the medium and high tension paintings more than the low sensation seekers . Tension of paintings was not a significant factor in relation to sensation seeking for females . The high sensation seekers did not differ from the lows at any level of tension . The means for the combined sex groups are plotted in Fig . 1 . Exp 1 Exp 1

e

3 .3 3 .2 3 .1 3 .0 2 .9 2 .8 2 .7 2 .6 2 .5 2 .4 2 .3 Low

a High SS eu c X

1 .5 Medium Painting tension level

High

Fig. 1 . Mean liking ratings of high and low sensation seekers as a function of painting tension levels in Study 1 .

Pbs tac

Qee

~cu '

Painting types Fig . 2. Mean liking ratings of high and low male and female sensation seekers of paintings of five types in Study 1 . Note. Open diamonds = female high sensation seekers, closed diamonds = male high sensation seekers, closed squares =female low sensation seekers, open squares =male low sensation seekers .

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567

Table 4 . Categories of paintings from factor analysis Artist

Loading

Tension

Complexity

0 .78 0 .75 0 .68 0.66 0.65 0.64

3 .89 2.67 4.28 4.33 3.39 1 .89

2.33 1 .17 5 .00 2 .92 1 .75 1 .42

Friedrich Friedrich Hunt Altdbrfer Friedrich Homer Church

Factor 2. Realistic-high-tension An Avalanche in the Alps' Das Eismere (The Ice-Jam) Felsenschluct' Brisants a la Pointe de Granville Ausschritt Morgennebel an Gebirge Northeaster Niagra

0.67 0.62 0.58 0.54 0 .52 0 .47 0 .45 0 .43

4.89 4.00 4.28 4.61 4 .28 3.28 4.11 3.61

8 .08 7 .00 7 .92 5 .58 7.08 5 .00 3 .58 4.25

Bierstadt Church Friedrich Doughty Bierstadt Church Church

Factor 3. Romantic Sunset in the Yosemite Valley Rainy Season in the Tropics Kreidefelsen auf Rugen Fanciful Landscape Horse in the Wilderness Morning in the Tropics Twilight in the Wilderness

0 .67 0 .57 0 .57 0 .57 0 .54 0 .54 0 .47

3 .00 2 .06 2 .72 2.17 3.06 2.00 2 .83

7.42 7.33 6.25 7 .08 5 .58 6.42 7.00

Church Friedrich Turner Turner Friedrich Constable Altdbrfer Bierstadt

Factor 4. Realistic-low-tension The Gorge Niagra B6hmische Landschaft Chevening Park View on Clapham Common" Fruschnee Watermeadows Near Salisbury Donaulandschaft Bei Regensburg Autumn Woods--

0 .66 0 .58 0 .55 0 .49 0 .48 0 .45 0 .41 #

3.94 1 .56 1 .78 2.28 2 .06 1 .33 2 .56 1 .33

5 .08 3 .50 5 .58 4.92 5.42 5.33 6.67 5.50

Van Gogh Hodler Van Gogh Hodler Nolde

Factor S. Expressionist Landscape with Olive Trees NissanWheat Field with Cypresses Eiger, MSnch, and Jungfrau in MoonlightShore Landscape

0 .64 0 .63 0 .58 0 .56 0 .50

3 .00 3 .44 2 .11 2 .83 3 .44

5.75 4.00 4.25 2.92 3 .00

Turner Turner Turner Constable Turner Turner

de Loutherbourg

Painting Factor 1 . Semi-abstract Rough Sea with Wreckage Sun Setting Over Lake Snow Storm, Avalanche, and Inundation' Seascape Study with Rainclouds' Waves Breaking Against the Wind Landscape with a River and a Bay in the Distance.

'Painting liked significantly more by high sensation seekers; "Painting liked significantly more by low sensation seekers ; #Not included in factor .

Factor analysis of paintings : styles The dimensions of complexity and tension were rationally chosen, but do not seem adequate as dimensions describing the more complicated differences between the varied styles and contents of the paintings . For this reason the liking ratings of the paintings were factor analyzed using a nonparametric analysis . the Guttman-Lingoes Smallest Space Analysis III . Five factors were defined accounting for 76% of the variance . The paintings with factor loadings of 0 .40 or higher on each of the factors are listed in Table 4 . The table also indicates the individual paintings on which high and low sensation seekers within both sexes differed significantly in their ratings . Five of the 6 paintings with significant loadings on Factor I were by Turner. They are hazy and impressionistic or semi-abstract and rated low on complexity . Two were high in tension but two were rated low on this dimension . The two that the high sensation seekers liked significantly more than lows were the ones high on tension (Turner's "Snow Storm, Avalanche, and Inundation" and Constable's "Seascape Study with Rainclouds") . Factor 2 consists of realistically portrayed, turbulent scenes, most of which are rated high on both tension and complexity . The two liked more by high sensation seekers than lows received the highest ratings on complexity of all 52 paintings, and one ("Avalanche in the Alps") also received the highest rating on tension. Factor 3 paintings are romantic, fantasy-like landscapes . Most are low on tension and high on complexity . None were liked significantly more by one sensation seeking group than the other . Factor 4 consists of realistic, pastoral landscapes . They tend to be low in tension and medium in complexity . Turner's



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MARVIN ZUCKERMAN ei at Table 5. Comparisons of male and female high and low sensation seekers on five categories of paintings Liking ratings of paintings Males

Factors Abstract Expressionist Romantic Real-hi tease Real4o tease

•P <

Females

Tension

Complex

High SS

Low SS

I

High SS

Low SS

I

3 .4 3 .0 2 .5 4 .1 2 .2

2 .4 4 .0 6 .7 6 .1 5 .3

2 .1 2 .3 4 .1 3 .2 3 .7

1 .7 1 .8 3.8 2.9 3 .7

2 .12' 2 .02• 2 .03" 1 .64 0 .01

2.1 2.5 3 .9 2.8 3 .5

19 . 2.1 3 .9 2 .8 3 .6

1 .27 2 .18 • 0 .46 0 .20 0 .50

0.05 .

"View of Clapham Common" and Bierstadt's "Autumn Woods" were liked more by low sensation seekers than by highs of both sexes . Factor 5 contains expressionistic-type paintings including two by Van Gogh, two by Hodler, and one by Nolde . The high sensation seekers liked the two paintings by Hodler ("Niesen" and "Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau in Moonlight") significantly more than lows. The first was rated medium in both complexity and tension ; the second was rated medium in tension and low in complexity . Table 5 presents the data on the mean liking ratings for high and low sensation seekers (Total SSS) for each of the five factors . The data are plotted in Fig . 2 . The Ss were also divided into those high and low on art history education and comparisons were made of these groups on each of the painting factors . Male Ss with some art history training liked the factor I (semi-abstract) and factor 3 (romantic-fantasy) landscapes more than those with no training in art history, but females with art history training liked the factor 3 landscapes significantly less than those with no such training . A comparison of high and low sensation seekers on art history training (divided into those with no courses and those with at least one course) showed no relationship between these groupings (chi-squares = 0.87 and 1 .38 for males and females, respectively) ; consequently, there was no need to correct the differences on sensation seeking for art history background . The differences in liking between factor categories were larger than those between high and low sensation seekers . All Ss liked the three realistic categories of paintings more than the semi-abstract and expressionist ones . However, high sensation seekers of both sexes liked the expressionist paintings significantly more than low sensation seekers did . Among the males, the high sensation seekers also liked the semi-abstract paintings and the romantic-fantasy landscapes significantly more than low sensation seekers did . STUDY 2 Method Study 2 was an attempt to replicate the results of the first study . The same set of 52 paintings were presented in the same order to the Ss. The Ss consisted of 153 undergraduate students (62 males and 91 females) . In this study all Ss came from introductory psychology courses . MANOVAs were used to analyze the effects of gender of Ss, sensation seeking, and their interactions with each other and the categories of paintings . The same classifications of paintings were used as in the previous study . Results Complexity Since there were no significant interaction effects between sex and sensation seeking, means are presented separately by sex (males vs females) for each of the three levels of painting complexity Table 6, Mean liking ratings of males and females as a function of level of painting complexity Complexity Low Medium High

Males

Females

F(df= 1/149)

P

2 .30 2 .76 3 .40

2 .31 2 .69 3 .02

0 .51 0 .32 9 .48

NS NS 0 .002



Sensation seeking and reactions to nature paintings

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Table 7. Mean liking ratings of males and females as a function of levels of tension in paintings Tension levels Males Females F(df=1/149) P

Table 8 . Mean liking ratings of high and low sensation seekers as a function of levels of tension in paintings

Low Medium High

Low Medium High

2 .98 2 .80 2 .59

3 .00 2 .77 2 .30

0 .05 0 .19 6 .23

N5 NS 0 .014

Tension levels

Low SS

High SS

F(df=1/149)

P

3 .04 2 .80 2 .35

2 .93 2 .77 2 .54

1 .33 0 .27 2 .62

NS N5 NS(P-0 .11)

(low, medium, and high) in Table 6. Between S effects were analyzed by MANOVAs and those involving within S effects (levels) were analyzed by an ANOVA mixed model for repeated measures with corrected degrees offreedom, F and P values using the Greenhouse-Geiser method. The main effect for sex of S was significant [F(3/147) = 6.12, P = 0.0011 and the interaction of sex with level of complexity was also significant [F(1 .58/236/1)= 13 .88, P < 0 .001] . As shown in Table 6, men and women did not differ on liking for the low and medium complexity paintings, but men liked the high complexity paintings more than the women did . Neither the main effect for sensation seeking nor its interaction with level of painting complexity were significant . The level of complexity effect was highly significant [F(L58/236.1)=221 .01, P<0 .001], as was the linear effect [F(1/149) = 17 .93, P < 0 .001] . Liking increased as a function of painting complexity for all groups . Tension

A significant main effect was found for sex of S [F(3,147) = 4 .32, P = 0.006] and the interaction of sex and level of tension in the paintings was also significant [F(1 .32, 196 .4) = 9 .66, P < 0 .001] . Table 7 shows the means for men and women at each level of tension . There were no differences between the sexes at low and medium levels of tension, but men liked the high tension paintings significantly more than women did . The main effect of sensation seeking was significant [F (3,147) = 3 .97, P < 0 .009] and the interaction of sensation seeking with levels of tension was also significant [F(1 .32/196.4)=8 .77, P < 0 .001] . Table 8 and Fig . 3 show these means for high and low sensation seekers at each level of painting tension . The univariate F values were not significant for any of the individual levels of tension but, as seen in Fig . 3, the slope between low and high tension was greater for the low than for the high sensation seekers . The level of tension effect was highly significant [F(1 .32/196 .4) = 103 .4, P < 0 .001] and the linear effect of the level differences was also significant [F(1/149) = 119 .87, P < 0 .001] . Ss in all groups showed a decline in liking with increases of tension in paintings . Styles

The five categories of paintings derived from the factor analysis in the previous study were used as the basis for this final analysis . As in the analyses of complexity and tension, there were no Exp 2 4.0 Exp 2

3 .1 p~.

2 .5 -

M It

0 3 .0

k Hi 55

25

High SS

Females

2 .0 I Lo SS Low SS

24

1~

Pbstsac`

2 .3 Low

Lo SS

3 .5 -

3 .0 r 2 .9 eo 2 .8 Y 2 .7 =1 2 .6 -

Medium Painting tension level

H

h

I

I

I

"0

To",

R°

'o '0

%.

Painting types

Fig. 3 . Mean liking ratings of high and low sensation seekers Fig . 4. Mean liking ratings of high and low male and female as a function of painting tension levels in Study 2 . sensation seekers of paintings of five types in Study 2 . Note . Closed squares = high female sensation seekers, open squares = low female sensation seekers, closed dia. mends= high male sensation seekers, open diamonds = low male sensation seekers .



MAxvIN ZuCKERMAN et at

570

Table 9 . Comparisons of high and low sensation seekers and males and females on five categories of paintings Factors Abstract Expressionist Romantic Real-hi tense Real-lo tense "f=1/149 .

High SS

Low 55

F'

P

1 .93 2.29 3.71 2 .78 2.97

1 .81 1 .94 3 .85 2 .80 3 .25

0 .81 4 .80 0 .99 0 .26 6 .12

NS

0 .030 NS NS

0 .014

Males 1 .77 1 .95 3 .85 2 .96 3 .19

Females 1 .95 2.23 3 .73 2.55 3 .09

F

1 .51 3 .51 0 .89 11 .75 0 .44

P NS NS NS

0 .001 NS

significant interactions between sensation seeking and sex of Ss . There was a significant main effect of sex [F(5/145) = 7 .74, P < 0 .001] and a significant interaction between sex and painting styles [F(2 .76/411 .5) = 9 .60, P < 0 .001] as can be seen in Table 9 and Fig, 4 . Men liked the realistic high-tension paintings significantly more than women did . The effect of sensation seeking was significant [F(5/145) = 3 .41, P = 0 .006] and the interaction of sensation seeking with style categories was also significant [F(2 .76/411 .5) = 5 .55, P = 0 .001] . As seen in Table 9 and Fig. 4, high sensation seekers liked the expressionistic paintings significantly more than low sensation seekers did, whereas low sensation seekers liked the realistic low-tension paintings significantly more than high sensation seekers did. The painting styles were a highly significant source of variance within Ss [F (2.76/411 .5) = 249 .05, P < 0 .001] . As seen in Fig . 4, Ss in all groups liked the three realistic style paintings more than the abstract or expressionistic styles . The most preferred style was the one using realistic forms, but with lighting and color creating a romantic-fantasy effect . Individual paintings

A MANOVA revealed significant differences in liking between high and low sensation seekers on the 52 individual paintings, [F(52/98) = .153, P = 0 .036] and univariate F tests indicated significant differences (P < 0 .05) on 12 of the 52 paintings. Four of these 12 paintings had also yielded significant differences between high and low sensation seekers in the first study . These four paintings are shown in Figs 5 and 6, as prototypes of the preferences of high and low sensation seekers . The high sensation seekers liked Constable's "Seascape with clouds" and Hodler's "Eiger, Munch, and Jungfrau in Moonlight" more than the low sensation seekers, whereas the low sensation seekers liked Turner's "View on Clapham Common" and Bierstadt's "Autumn woods" more than the high sensation seekers in both studies . Constable's seascape is from the semi-abstract category and is high in tension and low in complexity . Hodler's painting is from the impressionistic category and is low in complexity and medium in tension level . Turner's and Bierstadt's paintings represent the pastoral realism style ; Bierstadt's is low in tension and Turner's painting is medium tension . Both are medium in complexity . DISCUSSION Even though sensation seeking affected reactions to the paintings, certain qualities of the painting styles and subject matter were even more influential . Most persons like nature paintings that are complex, tension-free, and representational rather than expressionistic or semi-abstract . Within the realistic or representational categories the most liked ratings are from the romantic school as exemplified in the landscapes of Church and Bierstadt. When we compare relative liking within these stimulus constraints it is clear that high sensation seekers differ from lows in their liking for certain qualities of paintings . There were no consistent findings relating complexity of paintings to sensation seeking across the two studies and in the second study complexity did not relate at all to sensation seeking . Complexity seems subordinate to other qualities of the paintings such as realism or abstractness of the styles . Expressionist styles, favored by high sensation seekers in both studies, range from simple to complex in treatment of detail and tend to be somewhat lower in complexity than the more realistic paintings in factors 2, 3 and 4. Findings of preferences for complexity for high sensation seekers in previous research (Griffen, 1972 ; Looft & Baranowski, 1971 ; Zuckerman et al ., 1972) were based on relatively simple figures . Other factors in paintings such as content and style may override the basic personality differences in preference for complexity .

Sensation seeking and reactions to nature paintings

571

572

MARVIN ZUCKFRMAN

et al .

Fig . 5 . Paintings liked significantly more by high sensation seekers in both studies : (a) Constable : Seascape with Clouds . Reprinted by permission of Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly . London, (b) Hodler : Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau in Moonlight.

Sensation seeking and reactions to nature paintings

573

Fig . 6 . Paintings liked significantly more by low sensa ion seekers in both studies (a) Turner : View on Clapham Common . Reprinted by permission of Tate Gallery Publications . Millbank. London . (b) Bierstad : Autumn Woods . Reprinted by permission of the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY .



Sensation seeking and reactions to nature paintings

575

Tension in the paintings can be created with a minimum of complexity as in the semi-abstract paintings in category 1, or can be conveyed in the subject matter as in realistic paintings of avalanches and storms at sea . There is some evidence of a preference for high tension paintings among high sensation seekers, although this difference was found only for males in the first study and was found in an interaction effect in the second study . In the second study the low sensation seekers tended to like the low tension and the high sensation seekers tended to like the high tension ones more . The result is consistent with the idea that high sensation seekers like stimuli or situations that are arousing even if the arousal is fear . The dimensions of paintings revealed by the factor analysis corresponded somewhat with certain rational distinctions made by art historians and were more relevant to the differentiation of high and low sensation seekers . The differences between high and low sensation seekers are relative to the general liking for representational as opposed to abstract art (Tobacyk et al., 1981). The analyses of sensation seeking in relation to styles of painting showed a consistently greater liking of expressionistic paintings by the high sensation seekers than by the low sensation seekers . These paintings contain enough detail to recognize the subject matter but there is also some ambiguity produced by the style . Sensation seeking is related to "tolerance for ambiguity" and "need for cognitive structure", highs have more of the first of these and less of the second (Zuckerman, 1979) . An ambiguous stimulus tends to be more novel, or less familiar, and therefore more challenging and arousing . While they like some of the paintings in the semi-abstract category, such as Constable's seascape, the differences between them and low sensation seekers emerge more clearly at the next level of the dimension that runs from abstract to realistic . Hodler's mountains rising through and above the clouds are more recognizable in subject but mysterious in their simplicity and coloring . They could be rising from the ocean or the ground . The clouds have a curious aura of fight around their perimeters. Van Gogh's paintings move and writhe . Nature seems tortured in them . Noldc's shore landscape has very simple cloud forms in the sky, done in garish colors and reflected in the water . Nolde and Hodler are considered to be expressionists and Van Gogh's post-impressionist paintings strongly influenced this school . Expressionist painting is characterized by: "The search for expressiveness of style by means of exaggerations and distortions of line and color; a deliberate abandon of the naturalism implicit in Impressionism in favor of a simplified style which should carry far greater emotional impact ." (Murray & Murray, 1972) . It may be the emotional impact of these paintings which makes them more attractive to high sensation seekers . High sensation seekers are attracted to emotionally arousing themes, whether positive or negative, in still pictures (Zaleski, 1984) or video and films (Zuckerman & Litle, 1986) . While all Ss liked bucolic nature scenes the low sensation seekers liked them even more than the highs . Videotapes of nature scenes, in contrast with noisy urban scenes, have been shown to reduce physiological effects of stress and fear and anger and increase positive affect (Ulrich, Simons, Losito, Fiorito, Miles & Zelson, 1991) . High sensation seekers seem to regard states of increased physiological arousal more positively than low sensation seekers even if the arousal has a fearful tone (Zuckerman, 1979) . The relatively greater preference of low sensation seekers for low-tension paintings is consistent with their avoidance of tension increasing activities in all areas of life . Sex differences were also prominent . Men liked complex and high-tension paintings more than women did . This was expressed in preferences for realistic high-tension paintings of avalanches, ice-jams, and storms . Women liked quiet, romantic scenes of moonlight on water more than men did. Men are consistently higher than women in the Thrill and Adventure Seeking aspect of sensation seeking . The portrayals of nature in its more violent forms seems to appeal more to men than to women . Like all gender differences this one is not easily explainable in universal terms . Although evolution may have given men a greater taste for physical challenge and adventure there is probably a great deal of socialization involved as well . Like many other areas of preference, art is influenced by personality . Sensation seeking seems to influence painting preferences in regard to both the form and content of paintings . Relative to low sensation seekers, high sensation seekers have a greater liking for art which is arousing due to complex interactions between form, color, and theme which cannot be encompassed within single categories of complexity or tension . The expressionist style is most evocative of these qualities liked by high sensation seekers . Low sensation seekers enjoy realistic portrayals of nature in its more



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