Spatial Layout and Composition: Related but Distinct Factors for the Aesthetic Appreciation of Natural Images
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Spatial Layout is an important concept in the literature on space and scene perception, while Composition is central in theoretical aesthetics, and art history, philosophy, and education. Both factors depend strongly on perceptual organization, and they could therefore have a similar impact on aesthetic appreciation. We aimed to reveal similarities and differences between both concepts in relation to aesthetic appreciation, by conducting an extensive online study (N=1300) with a diverse stimulus set of real-world images. We collected 7-point ratings for Spatial Layout, Composition, Order, Complexity, Pleasure, and Interest on 160 images of 80 manmade and 80 natural scenes. Participants rated either Composition or Spatial Layout of 40 images in two blocks, after they received a brief explanation with examples of good and bad composition, or clear and unclear spatial layout. In the first block they also rated either Pleasure or Interest, and either Order or Complexity. In the second block they rated the same images again on Composition or Spatial Layout and the remaining two concepts. Participants also completed questionnaires for basic demographics, art-experience, and personality. First analyses with Spearman correlations confirmed that Spatial Layout and Composition can be judged reliably (0.73 and 0.77, respectively) and were highly correlated (0.74), with some unexplained variance suggesting that they are not completely overlapping concepts. Composition was more relevant for Pleasure and Interest (0.77 and 0.70, respectively) than Spatial Layout (0.54 and 0.43, respectively). Order correlated more strongly with Spatial Layout (0.74) than with Composition (0.66), while for Complexity the correlations were both weak but had opposite signs (0.26 for Composition, -0.12 for Spatial Layout). Our findings indicate that Spatial Layout and Composition are related but distinct factors, with unique relationships to different dimensions of aesthetic appreciation. Future analyses of this dataset will provide insight into moderators of these relationships.
Acknowledgment: This work is funded by an ERC Advanced Grant (No. 101053925) awarded to JW.
Recommended citation: Koßmann, L., Hellemans A-S., Bossens C. & Wagemans, J. (2024). Spatial Layout and Composition: Related but Distinct Factors for the Aesthetic Appreciation of Natural Images [Poster]. 46th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Aberdeen, Scotland.