The Aesthetic Responsiveness Assessment (AReA): A Screening Tool to Assess Individual Differences in Responsiveness to Art in English and German

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Wolff Schlotz
  • Sebastian Wallot
  • Diana Omigie
  • Michael D. Masucci
  • Sonja C. Hoelzmann
  • Edward A. Vessel

People differ in how they respond to artworks. Measuring such individual differences is helpful for explaining response variability and selecting particularly responsive subsamples. On the basis of a sampleof items indicating relevant behavior and experience, we exploratively constructed the AestheticResponsiveness Assessment (AReA), a screening tool for the assessment of individual differences inresponsiveness to art in English and German. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggestedthree first-order factors labeled aesthetic appreciation, intense aesthetic experience, and creative behavior,and a second-order factor aesthetic responsiveness. Aesthetic responsiveness was assessed in N = 781 participants from the United States and Germany, and measurement invariance analysis demonstratedfull metric and partial scalar invariance across language versions. AReA scale scores yielded goodreliability estimates. Validation studies confirmed expected associations between AReA scale scores andmeasures of related constructs, as well as continuously and retrospectively recorded responses to music,visual art, and poetry. In summary, the AReA is a promising, psychometrically evaluated instrument toassess aesthetic responsiveness built on a mixture of exploratory and confirmatory construction strategies.It

Original languageEnglish
JournalPsychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Volume15
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)682-696
Number of pages15
ISSN1931-3896
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11.2021
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Psychology - Aesthetic experience, Aesthetic responsiveness, Creative behavior, Screening scale, validity

DOI