Color, Music, and Emotion: Bach to the Blues.

When people make cross-modal matches from classical music to colors, they choose colors whose emotional associations fit the emotional associations of the music, supporting the emotional mediation hypothesis. We further explored this result with a large, diverse sample of 34 musical excerpts from different genres, including Blues, Salsa, Heavy metal, and many others, a broad sample of 10 emotion-related rating scales, and a large range of 15 rated music-perceptual features. We found systematic music-to-color associations between perceptual features of the music and perceptual dimensions of the colors chosen as going best/worst with the music (e.g., loud, punchy, distorted music was generally associated with darker, redder, more saturated colors). However, these associations were also consistent with emotional mediation (e.g., agitated-sounding music was associated with agitated-looking colors). Indeed, partialling out the variance due to emotional content eliminated all significant cross-modal correlations between lower level perceptual features. Parallel factor analysis (Parafac, a type of factor analysis that encompasses individual differences) revealed two latent affective factors- arousal and valence -which mediated lower level correspondences in music-to-color associations. Participants thus appear to match music to colors primarily in terms of common, mediating emotional associations.

A Physical Education Intervention Effects on Correlates of Physical Activity and Motivation.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure effects of a modified physical education (PE) unit on leisure time physical activity (LTPA), relative autonomy, and known correlates of LTPA in seventh-grade boys and girls. METHOD: A seventh-grade mountain biking unit was modified to include instructional activities targeting known correlates of PA behavior following principles of Physical Education Dedicated to Physical Activity for Life (PEDAL). A three-group design (intervention, standard PE, no PE) was employed. Participants completed a survey at baseline, postintervention, and follow-up at 4 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 300 seventh graders (girls = 151) from two schools completed the surveys. Data suggest PE may influence certain correlates of and autonomous motivation for PA although results revealed no intervention main effects for continuous and noncontinuous dependent variables. Results also provide evidence of sport-specific skill being improved through physical education. CONCLUSION: While results of this study showed no main effects from the intervention, data suggest PE may influence certain correlates of and autonomous motivation for PA. This warrants attention toward autonomy supporting PE environments and instruction sensitive to autonomous motivation. Future studies should examine PEDAL-designed PE programs over an entire year or more.

Effects of Implied Motion and Facing Direction on Positional Preferences in Single-Object Pictures.

Palmer, Gardner, and Wickens studied aesthetic preferences for pictures of single objects and found a strong inward bias: Right-facing objects were preferred left-of-center and left-facing objects right-of-center. They found no effect of object motion (people and cars showed the same inward bias as chairs and teapots), but the objects were not depicted as moving. Here we measured analogous inward biases with objects depicted as moving with an implied direction and speed by having participants drag-and-drop target objects into the most aesthetically pleasing position. In Experiment 1, human figures were shown diving or falling while moving forward or backward. Aesthetic biases were evident for both inward-facing and inward-moving figures, but the motion-based bias dominated so strongly that backward divers or fallers were preferred moving inward but facing outward. Experiment 2 investigated implied speed effects using images of humans, horses, and cars moving at different speeds (e.g., standing, walking, trotting, and galloping horses). Inward motion or facing biases were again present, and differences in their magnitude due to speed were evident. Unexpectedly, faster moving objects were generally preferred closer to frame center than slower moving objects. These results are discussed in terms of the combined effects of prospective, future-oriented biases, and retrospective, past-oriented biases.

An ecological framework for temporal and individual differences in color preferences.

There are well-known and extensive differences in color preferences between individuals, but there are also within-individual differences from one time to another. Despite the seeming independence between these individual and temporal effects, we propose that they have the same underlying cause: people's ecological experiences with color-associated objects and events. Our approach is motivated by the Ecological Valence Theory (EVT; Palmer & Schloss, 2010) which states that preference for a given color is determined by the combined valence (liking/disliking) of all objects and events associated with that color. We define three ecologically-based hypotheses for explaining temporal and individual differences in color preferences concerning: (1) differences in object valences, (2) differences in color-object associations, and (3) differences in object activations in the mind when preferences are measured. We review prior studies that support these hypotheses and raise open research questions about untested predictions. We also extend the computational framework of the EVT by defining a single weighted average equation that captures both individual and temporal differences in color preferences. Finally, we consider other factors that potentially contribute to color preferences, including abstract symbolic associations, color in design, and psychophysical and/or physiological factors.

Seasonal Variations in Color Preference.

We investigated how color preferences vary according to season and whether those changes could be explained by the ecological valence theory (EVT). To do so, we assessed the same participants' preferences for the same colors during fall, winter, spring, and summer in the northeastern United States, where there are large seasonal changes in environmental colors. Seasonal differences were most pronounced between fall and the other three seasons. Participants liked fall-associated dark-warm colors-for example, dark-red, dark-orange (brown), dark-yellow (olive), and dark-chartreuse-more during fall than other seasons. The EVT could explain these changes with a modified version of Palmer and Schloss' (2010) weighted affective valence estimate (WAVE) procedure that added an activation term to the WAVE equation. The results indicate that color preferences change according to season, as color-associated objects become more/less activated in the observer. These seasonal changes in color preferences could not be characterized by overall shifts in weights along cone-contrast axes.

Learning to Be (In)variant: Combining Prior Knowledge and Experience to Infer Orientation Invariance in Object Recognition.

How does the visual system recognize images of a novel object after a single observation despite possible variations in the viewpoint of that object relative to the observer? One possibility is comparing the image with a prototype for invariance over a relevant transformation set (e.g., translations and dilations). However, invariance over rotations (i.e., orientation invariance) has proven difficult to analyze, because it applies to some objects but not others. We propose that the invariant transformations of an object are learned by incorporating prior expectations with real-world evidence. We test this proposal by developing an ideal learner model for learning invariance that predicts better learning of orientation dependence when prior expectations about orientation are weak. This prediction was supported in two behavioral experiments, where participants learned the orientation dependence of novel images using feedback from solving arithmetic problems.

Music-to-Color Associations of Single-Line Piano Melodies in Non-synesthetes.

Prior research has shown that non-synesthetes' color associations to classical orchestral music are strongly mediated by emotion. The present study examines similar cross-modal music-to-color associations for much better controlled musical stimuli: 64 single-line piano melodies that were generated from four basic melodies by Mozart, whose global musical parameters were manipulated in tempo(slow/fast), note-density (sparse/dense), mode (major/minor) and pitch-height (low/high). Participants first chose the three colors (from 37) that they judged to be most consistent with (and, later, the three that were most inconsistent with) the music they were hearing. They later rated each melody and each color for the strength of its association along four emotional dimensions: happy/sad, agitated/calm, angry/not-angry and strong/weak. The cross-modal choices showed that faster music in the major mode was associated with lighter, more saturated, yellower (warmer) colors than slower music in the minor mode. These results replicate and extend those of Palmer et al. (2013, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 110, 8836-8841) with more precisely controlled musical stimuli. Further results replicated strong evidence for emotional mediation of these cross-modal associations, in that the emotional ratings of the melodies were very highly correlated with the emotional associations of the colors chosen as going best/worst with the melodies (r = 0.92, 0.85, 0.82 and 0.70 for happy/sad, strong/weak,angry/not-angry and agitated/calm, respectively). The results are discussed in terms of common emotional associations forming a cross-modal bridge between highly disparate sensory inputs.

Gradient cuts and extremal edges in relative depth and figure-ground perception.

Extremal edges (EEs) are borders consisting of luminance gradients along the projected edge of a partly self-occluding curved surface (e.g., a cylinder), with equiluminant contours (ELCs) that run approximately parallel to that edge. Gradient cuts (GCs) are similar luminance gradients with ELCs that intersect (are "cut" by) an edge that could be due to occlusion. EEs are strongly biased toward being seen as closer/figural surfaces (Palmer & Ghose, Psychological Science, 19(1), 77-83, 2008). Do GCs produce a complementary bias toward being seen as ground? Experiment 1 shows that, with EEs on the opposite side, GCs produce a ground bias that increases with increasing ELC angles between ELCs and the shared edge. Experiment 2 shows that, with flat surfaces on the opposite side, GCs do not produce a ground bias, suggesting that more than one factor may be operating. We suggest that two partially dissociable factors may operate for curved surfaces-ELC angle and 3-D surface convexity-that reinforce each other in the figural cues of EEs but compete with each other in GCs. Moreover, this figural bias is modulated by the presence of EEs and GCs, as specified by the ELC angle between ELCs and the shared contour.

Ecological Effects in Cross-Cultural Differences Between U.S. and Japanese Color Preferences.

We investigated cultural differences between U.S. and Japanese color preferences and the ecological factors that might influence them. Japanese and U.S. color preferences have both similarities (e.g., peaks around blue, troughs around dark-yellow, and preferences for saturated colors) and differences (Japanese participants like darker colors less than U.S. participants do). Complex gender differences were also evident that did not conform to previously reported effects. Palmer and Schloss's (2010) weighted affective valence estimate (WAVE) procedure was used to test the Ecological Valence Theory's (EVT's) prediction that within-culture WAVE-preference correlations should be higher than between-culture WAVE-preference correlations. The results supported several, but not all, predictions. In the second experiment, we tested color preferences of Japanese-U.S. multicultural participants who could read and speak both Japanese and English. Multicultural color preferences were intermediate between U.S. and Japanese preferences, consistent with the hypothesis that culturally specific personal experiences during one's lifetime influence color preferences.

What's that smell? An ecological approach to understanding preferences for familiar odors.

How do odor preferences arise? Following Palmer and Schloss's (2010, PNAS, 107, 8877-8882) ecological valence theory of color preferences, we propose that preference for an odor is determined by preferences for all objects and/or entities associated with that odor. The present results showed that preferences for familiar odors were strongly predicted by average preferences for all things associated with the odors (eg people liked the apple odor which was associated with mostly positive things, such as apples, soap, and candy, but disliked the fish odor, which was associated with mostly negative things, such as dead fish, trash, and vomit). The odor WAVEs (weighted affective valence estimates) performed significantly better than one based on preference for only the namesake object (eg predicting preference for the apple odor based on preference for apples). These results suggest that preferences for familiar odors are based on a summary statistic, coding the valence of previous odor-related experiences. We discuss how this account of odor preferences is consistent with the idea that odor preferences exist to guide organisms to approach beneficial objects and situations and avoid harmful ones.

Ecological influences on individual differences in color preference.

How can the large, systematic differences that exist between individuals' color preferences be explained? The ecological valence theory (Palmer & Schloss, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:8877-8882, 2010) posits that an individual's preference for each particular color is determined largely by his or her preferences for all correspondingly colored objects. Therefore, individuals should differ in their color preferences to the extent that they have different preferences for the same color-associated objects or that they experience different objects. Supporting this prediction, we found that individuals' color preferences were predicted better by their own preferences for correspondingly colored objects than by other peoples' preferences for the same objects. Moreover, the fit between color preferences and affect toward the colored objects was reliably improved when people's own idiosyncratic color-object associations were included in addition to a standard set of color-object associations. These and related results provide evidence that individual differences in color preferences are reliably influenced by people's personal experiences with colored objects in their environment.

The shape of a hole is perceived as the shape of its interior.

In typical figure-ground displays the figure has shape and is perceived as being in front, whereas the ground is shapeless and recedes to the back. The recent literature on the visual perception of holes has questioned the nature of this coupling between shape and depth both theoretically and empirically. In this paper we provide a theoretical framework that clarifies the underlying issues and we report new evidence supporting the view that the shape of a hole is perceived as the shape of its interior region. Palmer, Davis, Nelson, and Rock (2008 Perception, 37, 1569-1586) showed that the shape of the interior region of a hole is remembered as such, even though the surface visible through it is perceived as farther in depth. The present paper extends this evidence to perceiving holes. Participants performed a speeded shape-matching task in which they compared a surrounded interior region (of either a hole or an object) or its exterior complement with one of several shapes. The results indicate that holes are perceived as shaped in the same way as their material counterparts. We conclude that the shape of a hole is encoded as the shape of its interior region, even though that region contains no surface material. These results can be reconciled with recent experiments that have provided evidence that holes are perceived differently from their material counterparts.

The configural shape illusion.

A new illusion, called the configural shape illusion (CSI), is described in which the apparent shape of an object (the "target") is systematically distorted by the presence of an adjacent shape (the "inducer") that is distinct from, but perceptually grouped with, the target. The target is selectively elongated in a direction consistent with the extension of the larger configuration that includes both target and inducer. Experiments 1 and 2 show that the CSI magnitude varies systematically with factors known to influence grouping strength between configural elements, including proximity, good continuation, positional alignment, lightness similarity, hue similarity, and common fate. Experiments 3 through 5 examine the influence of relative inducer size and target size on illusion magnitude. We suggest that the CSI is caused by edge assimilation modulated by similarity between the target and inducer arising from population coding of edge positions. This assimilation account fits well with previous explanations of one-dimensional illusions of linear extent (e.g., the Müller-Lyer and Baldwin illusions), which are extended to account for the present two-dimensional illusion of shape.

The politics of color: preferences for Republican red versus Democratic blue.

The present study reveals that Election Day differentially affects the color preferences of US Republicans and Democrats. Voters' preferences for Republican red and Democratic blue were assessed, along with several distractor colors, on and around the 2010 interim and 2012 presidential elections. On non-Election Days, Republicans and Democrats preferred Republican red equally, and Republicans actually preferred Democratic blue more than Democrats did. On Election Day, however, Republicans' and Democrats' color preferences changed to become more closely aligned with their own party's colors. Republicans liked Republican red more than Democrats did, and no longer preferred Democratic blue more than Democrats did. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that color preferences are determined by people's preferences for correspondingly colored objects/entities (Palmer & Schloss in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:8877-8882, 2010). They further suggest that color preferences are calculated at a given moment, depending on which color-object associations are currently most activated or salient. Color preferences are thus far more dynamic and context-dependent than has previously been believed.

Music-color associations are mediated by emotion.

Experimental evidence demonstrates robust cross-modal matches between music and colors that are mediated by emotional associations. US and Mexican participants chose colors that were most/least consistent with 18 selections of classical orchestral music by Bach, Mozart, and Brahms. In both cultures, faster music in the major mode produced color choices that were more saturated, lighter, and yellower whereas slower, minor music produced the opposite pattern (choices that were desaturated, darker, and bluer). There were strong correlations (0.89 < r < 0.99) between the emotional associations of the music and those of the colors chosen to go with the music, supporting an emotional mediation hypothesis in both cultures. Additional experiments showed similarly robust cross-modal matches from emotionally expressive faces to colors and from music to emotionally expressive faces. These results provide further support that music-to-color associations are mediated by common emotional associations.

Color preferences change after experience with liked/disliked colored objects.

How are color preferences formed, and can they be changed by affective experiences with correspondingly colored objects? We examined these questions by testing whether affectively polarized experiences with images of colored objects would cause changes in color preferences. Such changes are implied by the ecological valence theory (EVT), which posits that color preferences are determined by people's average affective responses to correspondingly colored objects (Palmer & Schloss, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 8877-8882, 2010). Seeing images of strongly liked (and disliked) red and green objects, therefore, should lead to increased (and decreased) preferences for correspondingly colored red and green color patches. Experiment 1 showed that this crossover interaction did occur, but only if participants were required to evaluate their preferences for the colored objects when they saw them. Experiment 2 showed that these overall changes decreased substantially over a 24-h delay, but the degree to which the effect lasted for individuals covaried with the magnitude of the effects immediately after object exposure. Experiment 3 demonstrated a similar, but weaker, effect of affectively biased changes in color preferences when participants did not see, but only imagined, the colored objects. The overall pattern of results indicated that color preferences are not fixed, but rather are shaped by affective experiences with colored objects. Possible explanations for the observed changes in color preferences were considered in terms of associative learning through evaluative conditioning and/or priming of prior knowledge in memory.

Color preferences in infants and adults are different.

Adults commonly prefer blues most and greenish yellows least, but these hue preferences interact with lightness and saturation (e.g., dark yellow is particularly disliked: Palmer & Schloss (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:8877-8882, 2010)). Here, we tested for a similar hue-by-lightness interaction in infant looking preferences, to determine whether adult preferences are evident early in life. We measured looking times for both infants and adults in the same paired-comparison task using all possible pairs of eight colors: four hues (red/yellow/green/blue) at two lightness levels (dark/light). The adult looking data were strikingly similar to other adults' explicit preference responses, indicating for the first time that adults look longer at colors that they like. Infants showed a significant hue-by-lightness interaction, but it was quite different from the adult pattern. In particular, infants had a stronger looking preference for dark yellow and a weaker preference for light blue than did adults. The findings are discussed in relation to theories on the origins of color preference.

Visual aesthetics and human preference.

Human aesthetic preference in the visual domain is reviewed from definitional, methodological, empirical, and theoretical perspectives. Aesthetic science is distinguished from the perception of art and from philosophical treatments of aesthetics. The strengths and weaknesses of important behavioral techniques are presented and discussed, including two-alternative forced-choice, rank order, subjective rating, production/adjustment, indirect, and other tasks. Major findings are reviewed about preferences for colors (single colors, color combinations, and color harmony), spatial structure (low-level spatial properties, shape properties, and spatial composition within a frame), and individual differences in both color and spatial structure. Major theoretical accounts of aesthetic response are outlined and evaluated, including explanations in terms of mere exposure effects, arousal dynamics, categorical prototypes, ecological factors, perceptual and conceptual fluency, and the interaction of multiple components. The results of the review support the conclusion that aesthetic response can be studied rigorously and meaningfully within the framework of scientific psychology.

Accounting for taste: individual differences in preference for harmony.

Although empirical research on aesthetics has had some success in explaining the average preferences of groups of observers, relatively little is known about individual differences in preference, and especially about how such differences might covary across different domains. In this study, we identified a new factor underlying aesthetic response-preference for harmonious stimuli-and examined how it varies over four domains (color, shape, spatial location, and music) across individuals with different levels of training in art and music. We found that individual preferences for harmony are strongly correlated across all four dimensions tested and decrease consistently with training in the relevant aesthetic domains. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that cross-domain preference for harmony is well-represented as a single, unified factor, with effects separate from those of training and of common personality measures.

Aesthetic preference for spatial composition in multiobject pictures.

Five experiments examined preferences for horizontal positions in multiobject pictures. In Experiment 1, each picture contained a fixed object and an object whose position could be adjusted to create the most (or least) aesthetically pleasing image. Observers placed the movable object closer to the fixed object when the objects were related than when they were unrelated (a relatedness bias) but almost never overlapped them (a separation bias). Experiment 2 showed that these results were not due to demand characteristics by replicating them almost exactly in a between-participants design. In Experiment 3, preference rankings revealed a strong relatedness bias together with an inward bias toward the spatial envelope of objects to point into the frame. A weak balance effect was evident in a multiple regression analysis. Experiment 4 replicated the inward bias for the spatial envelope using multiobject groups. Experiment 5 generalized the above findings for different objects when observers had to choose between image pairs that differed only in interobject distance or degree of balance. Strong relatedness effects were again present, but there was no evidence of any preference for balance.