Oryginalny artykuł naukowy
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean

Impact of viewing time on aesthetic experience of Christian medieval Nubian wall paintings: an eye-tracking study with Sudanese and Western viewers

2025, 34, Numer 2


Data publikacji

15.09.2025

Data otrzymania

13.11.2024

Data akceptacji

23.04.2025

Model publikowania

open access

Rodzaj licencji


Dziedzina

Dziedzina nauk humanistycznych

Dyscyplina

archeologia

Klasyfikacja

-

Język publikacji

Angielski

Pliki do pobrania

PDF 925 KB

Artykuł

Liczba wyświetleń:199

Liczba pobrań:61

Cytowania Crossref:0

Wynik Altmetric:0

Zobacz mapę pobrań

Abstrakt

Aesthetic experience may foster positive connections between visitors and heritage sites. However, the way people engage with and esthetically experience archaeological heritage is not yet well understood. To address this gap, in the present on-site study, we explored how viewers’ cultural backgrounds might influence their aesthetic experience of Christian medieval Nubian wall paintings. Specifically, Sudanese and Western subjects were asked to view 17 paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Old Dongola (Sudan) while their eye movements and fixations were recorded with a mobile eye-tracker. After the viewing session, participants reported which paintings they preferred and would select for a museum exhibition. Our analysis explored whether and how viewing time on the entire wall painting, and on its specific elements (faces of characters depicted in the paintings and areas outside the faces), mediated later aesthetic choices. The results showed that the viewing time partly predicts the aesthetic choices of participants from both groups. Interestingly, although both groups based their aesthetic choices on viewing faces, the Western viewers were more inclined to do so than the Sudanese participants. Overall, the study supports the idea that cultural background can influence how viewers visually engage with heritage, which in turn partly affects their aesthetic choices. In addition, the research outcome demonstrates that recording eye movements and fixations may foster our understanding of ways viewers engage with archaeological heritage.

Słowa kluczowe:

Bibliografia

Babo-Rebelo, M., Chatel, M., Tabacchi, S., Namiq, A., Travers, E., James, K., and Haggard, P. (2022). Aesthetic experience enhances first-person spatial representation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(43), e2201540119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201540119

Bao, Y., Yang, T., Lin, X., Fang, Y., Wang, Y., Pöppel, E., and Lei, Q. (2016). Aesthetic preferences for Eastern and Western traditional visual art: Identity matters. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1596. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01596

Bayet, L. and Nelson, C.A. (2020). The neural architecture and developmental course of face processing. In J. Rubenstein, P. Rakic, B. Chen, and K.Y. Kwan (eds), Neural circuit and cognitive development (2nd ed., pp. 435–465). Amsterdam: Academic Press

Bornstein, R.F. (1989). Exposure and affect: Overview and meta-analysis of research, 1968–1987. Psychological Bulletin, 106(2), 265–289

Breiby, M.A. and Slåtten, T. (2018). The role of aesthetic experiential qualities for tourist satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 12(1), 1–14

Brieber, D., Nadal, M., and Leder, H. (2015). In the white cube: Museum context enhances the valuation and memory of art. Acta Psychologica, 154, 36–42

Brieber, D., Nadal, M., Leder, H., and Rosenberg, R. (2014). Art in time and space: Context modulates the relation between art experience and viewing time. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e99019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099019

Cela-Conde, C.J., Ayala, F.J., Munar, E., Maestú, F., Nadal, M., Capó, M.A., del Río, D., López-Ibor, J.J., Ortiz, T., Mirasso, C., and Marty, G. (2009). Sex-related similarities and differences in the neural correlates of beauty. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(10), 3847–3852

Celikors, E. and Sims, C.R. (2019). The relationship between aesthetic choices, ratings, and eye-movements. In H. Ayaz and L. Mazur (eds), Advances in neuroergonomics and cognitive engineering (pp. 75–82). Cham: Springer International Publishing

Chua, H.F., Boland, J.E., and Nisbett, R.E. (2005). Cultural variation in eye movements during scene perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(35), 12629–12633

Colwill, T. (2024). Heritage capital and wellbeing: Examining the relationship between heritage density and life satisfaction (=Historic England’s Research Report Series 18/2024). Portsmouth: Historic England

Cutting, J.E. (2003). Gustave Caillebotte, French Impressionism, and mere exposure. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 10(2), 319–343

Davis, T.M. and Bainbridge, W.A. (2023). Memory for artwork is predictable. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(28), e2302389120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302389120

Deng, W., Lin, Y., and Chen, L. (2021). Exploring destination choice intention by using the tourism photographic: From the perspectives of visual esthetic processing. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 713739. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713739

Duan, Z., Wang, F., and Hong, J. (2016). Culture shapes how we look: Comparison between Chinese and African university students. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 9(6), 1–10

Duchowski, A.T. (2017). Eye tracking methodology: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Cham: Springer

Fontoura, P., Miscenà, A., Menu, M., and Schaeffer, J.-M. (2023). Painting restoration and the eye of the beholder: A mobile eye-tracking study at the Unterlinden Museum. Art & Perception, 11(3–4), 270–294

Francuz, P. (2013). Imagia: w kierunku neurokognitywnej teorii obrazu (Imagia: Towards a neurocognitive image theory). Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL

Ganczarek, J., Pietras, K., Stolińska, A., and Szubielska, M. (2022). Titles and semantic violations affect eye movements when viewing contemporary paintings. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 16, 808330. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2022.808330

Goh, J.O., Tan, J.C., and Park, D.C. (2009). Culture modulates eye-movements to visual novelty. PLoS ONE, 4(12), e8238. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0008238

Harland, B., Gillett, J., Mann, C.M., Kass, J., Godwin, H.J., Liversedge, S.P., and Donnelly, N. (2014). Modes of address in pictorial art: An eye movement study of Manet’s Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Leonardo, 47(3), 241–247

Haxby, J.V., Hoffman, E.A., and Gobbini, M.I. (2000). The distributed human neural system for face perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(6), 223–233

Hayes, A.F. (2018). Partial, conditional, and moderated moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation. Communication Monographs, 85(1), 4–40

Ho, R., Szubielska, M., and Kopiś-Posiej, N. (2023). Cultural-match effect on the appreciation of traditional and contemporary visual arts: Evidence from Poland and Hong Kong. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 17(4), 451–462

Holmes, T. and Zanker, J.M. (2012). Using an oculomotor signature as an indicator of aesthetic preference. i-Perception, 3(7), 426–439

Holmqvist, K., Nyström, M., Andersson, R., Dewhurst, R., Jarodzka, H., and van de Weijer, J. (2011). Eye tracking: A comprehensive guide to methods and measures. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Kirillova, K. (2023). A review of aesthetics research in tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on beauty and aesthetics in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 100, 103553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2023.103553

Leder, H., Mitrovic, A., and Goller, J. (2016). How beauty determines gaze! Facial attractiveness and gaze duration in images of real world scenes. i-Perception, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2041669516664355

Leder, H., Tinio, P.P.L., Fuchs, I.M., and Bohrn, I. (2010). When attractiveness demands longer looks: The effects of situation and gender. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(9), 1858–1871

Leopold, D.A. and Rhodes, G. (2010). A comparative view of face perception. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 124(3), 233–251

Lu, C.-S., Weng, H.-K., Chen, S.-Y., Chiu, C.W., Ma, H.Y., Mak, K.W., and Yeung, T.C. (2020). How port aesthetics affect destination image, tourist satisfaction and tourist loyalty? Maritime Business Review, 5(2), 211–228

Maitland, R. and Smith, A. (2009). Tourism and the aesthetics of the built environment. In J. Tribe (ed.), Philosophical issues in tourism (pp. 171–190). Bristol: Channel View Publications

Maner, J.K., Kenrick, D.T., Becker, D.V., Delton, A.W., Hofer, B., Wilbur, C.J., and Neuberg, S.L. (2003). Sexually selective cognition: Beauty captures the mind of the beholder. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(6), 1107–1120

Marin, M.M. and Leder, H. (2022). Gaze patterns reveal aesthetic distance while viewing art. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1514(1), 155–165

Martens-Czarnecka, M. (2011). The wall paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola (=Nubia 3; Dongola 3). Warsaw: Warsaw University Press

Michalik, T., Trawiński, T., Hassan Siedahmed, M., and Satti, M. (in preparation). Spectatorship of mediaeval Nubian paintings: Cross-cultural eye movement study of archaeological site in Old Dongola, Sudan. Journal of African Archaeology

Mitschke, V., Goller, J., and Leder, H. (2017). Exploring everyday encounters with street art using a multimethod design. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(3), 276–283

Orquin, J.L. and Mueller Loose, S. (2013). Attention and choice: A review on eye movements in decision making. Acta Psychologica, 144(1), 190–206

Palumbo, L., Harrison, N.R., Trawiński, T., Kass, J., Metelmann, A.C., Bari, R.S.G., and Donnelly, N. (2025). Visual exploration mediates the influence of personal traits on responses to artworks in an art gallery setting. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 19(2), 270–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000529

Pelham, B., Hardin, C., Murray, D., Shimizu, M., and Vandello, J. (2022). A truly global, non-WEIRD examination of collectivism: The Global Collectivism Index (GCI). Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 3, 100030. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2021.100030

Pihko, E., Virtanen, A., Saarinen, V.-M., Pannasch, S., Hirvenkari, L., Tossavainen, T., Haapala, A., and Hari, R. (2011). Experiencing art: The influence of expertise and painting abstraction level. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 5, 94. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2011.00094

RStudio Team. (2022). RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R. (Computer software). RStudio, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.rstudio.com/ (accessed: 30.10.2024)

Šašinková, A., Čeněk, J., Ugwitz, P., Tsai, J.-L., Giannopoulos, I., Lacko, D., Stachoň, Z., Fitz, J., and Šašinka, Č. (2023). Exploring cross-cultural variations in visual attention patterns inside and outside national borders using immersive virtual reality. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 18852. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46103-1

Savazzi, F., Massaro, D., Dio, C.D., Gallese, V., Gilli, G., and Marchetti, A. (2014). Exploring responses to art in adolescence: A behavioral and eye-tracking study. PLoS ONE, 9(7), e102888. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102888

Scott, N., Le, D., Becken, S., and Connolly, R.M. (2020). Measuring perceived beauty of the Great Barrier Reef using eye-tracking technology. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(20), 2492–2502

Slater, A., Von der Schulenburg, C., Brown, E., Badenoch, M., Butterworth, G., Parsons, S., and Samuels, C. (1998). Newborn infants prefer attractive faces. Infant Behavior and Development, 21(2), 345–354

Tingley, D., Yamamoto, T., Hirose, K., Keele, L., Imai, K., Trinh, M., and Wong, W. (2022). Package ‘mediation’. (Computer software). Retrieved from https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/mediation/index.html (accessed: 30.10.2024)

Todorov, A. (2012). The social perception of faces. In S.T. Fiske and C.N. Macrae (eds), The SAGE handbook of social cognition (pp. 96–114). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications

Trawiński, T., Mestry, N., Harland, B., Liversedge, S.P., Godwin, H.J., and Donnelly, N. (2021). The spectatorship of portraits by naïve beholders. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 15(1), 3–19

Trawiński, T., Palumbo, L., Begum, R., and Donnelly, N. (2024). The effect of social factors on eye movements made when judging the aesthetic merit of figurative paintings. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 21843. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-72810-4

Trawiński, T., Zang, C., Liversedge, S.P., Ge, Y., and Donnelly, N. (2023). The time-course of fixations in representational paintings: A cross-cultural study. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 17(4), 412–427

Trawiński, T., Zang, C., Liversedge, S.P., Ge, Y., Fu, Y., and Donnelly, N. (2024). The influence of culture on the viewing of Western and East Asian paintings. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 18(2), 121–142

Tsao, D.Y., Freiwald, W.A., Tootell, R.B.H., and Livingstone, M.S. (2006). A cortical region consisting entirely of face-selective cells. Science, 311(5761), 670–674

Vogt, S. and Magnussen, S. (2007). Expertise in pictorial perception: Eye-movement patterns and visual memory in artists and laymen. Perception, 36(1), 91–100

Yang, T., Silveira, S., Formuli, A., Paolini, M., Pöppel, E., Sander, T., and Bao, Y. (2019). Aesthetic experiences across cultures: Neural correlates when viewing traditional Eastern or Western landscape paintings. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 798. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00798

Yang, W., Chen, Q., Huang, X., Xie, M., and Guo, Q. (2022). How do aesthetics and tourist involvement influence cultural identity in heritage tourism? The mediating role of mental experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 990030. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.990030

Zajonc, R.B. (1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9(2), 1–27

Zajonc, R.B. (2001). Mere exposure: A gateway to the subliminal. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10(6), 224–228

Zheng, Y., Wei, W., and Tasci, A.D.A. (2024). The aesthetic gaze of heritage sites: A framework of aesthetic experience formation. Tourism Analysis, 29(3), 337–347

Zhou, G., Chen, W., and Wu, Y. (2022). Research on the effect of authenticity on revisit intention in heritage tourism. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 883380. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.883380

Podobne publikacje