Successive Contrast Effects for Judgments of Abstraction in Artwork following Minimal Pre-Exposure

A total of 69 male and female college students were recruited to participate in this study to investigate successive contrast effects in perception of “abstraction” in artwork. Artworks rated as “high,” “medium,” and “low” in abstraction were established based upon results of a pilot study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three contrast groups (i.e., “high-medium,” “medium-medium,” and “low-medium”) and subsequently rated the same target artwork as being less “abstract” and less “complex” when it was preceded by a single “high” abstract painting than when it was preceded by a single “low” abstract painting. The target artwork was also rated as more “passive” when it was preceded by the “high” abstract painting than when it was preceded by the “medium” abstract painting. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research that has examined contrast effects in aesthetic judgments of artwork.