AUTHOR=Spee Blanca T. M. , Arato Jozsef , Mikuni Jan , Tran Ulrich S. , Pelowski Matthew , Leder Helmut 

TITLE=The dynamics of experiencing Gestalt and Aha in cubist art: pupil responses and art evaluations show a complex interplay of task, stimuli content, and time course

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1192565

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1192565

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Gestalt perception refers to the cognitive ability to perceive various elements as a unified whole. In our study, we delve deeper into the phenomenon of Gestalt recognition in visual cubist art, a transformative process culminating in what is often described as an Aha moment. This Aha moment signifies a sudden understanding of what is seen, merging seemingly disparate elements into a coherent meaningful picture. The onset of this Aha moment can vary-either appearing almost instantaneously, which is in line with theories of hedonic fluency, or manifesting after a period of time, supporting the concept of delayed but more in-depth meaningful insight. Employing pupillometry as an implicit measure, we examine cognitive and affective shifts during art interaction. Departing from previous research focusing solely on end-trial pupil responses and maximum dilation, our study takes a broader approach by examining both the time of maximum pupil dilation and average dilation throughout the entire trial. In part 1, participants (N=84) identified faces in cubist paintings with varying accessibility levels, stimulus content, and measured Aha moments. Notably, we found a distinctive pattern of maximum dilation occurring at both the beginning and the end of the trial. Longer response times were observed for high-fluent, face-present stimuli, aligning with delayed but accurate Aha through recognition. Additionally, the time of maximum pupil dilation, rather than average dilation, exhibited significant associations, being later for high-fluent, facepresent stimuli and correct detections. In part 2, a no-task free-viewing condition followed by ratings, average pupil dilation emerged as the significant factor. Face-stimuli and highly accessible art evoked stronger dilations, also reflecting high clearness and, interestingly, negative valence ratings. Our findings emphasize the nuanced relationship between recognition time and Aha. While pupil dilation measures showed distinct differences between recognition tasks and free viewing, their use in gauging emotional response through artwork ratings remains to be fully understood.