Original Photographic Art Induces Self-Transcendent Emotions

Encounters with art elicit changes in basic emotions. However, little attention has been paid to how art can elicit changes in self-transcendent emotions such as awe or states such as spiritual transcendence. Moreover, few studies in psychology and empirical aesthetics have tested whether the formal qualities of art matter in eliciting changes in emotion, and those that do have produced mixed results. For example, does adherence to aesthetic principles elicit stronger changes in emotion than art that violates this principle? In a series of three preregistered experimental studies (N = 1,832) and a pilot study (N = 860), we tested these questions. Participants were randomly assigned to view original art photos created by a professional photographer that adhered to aesthetic principles, modified photos (i.e., the original photos modified to violate aesthetic principles such as the rule of thirds), or a comparison condition (photos selected from the International Affective Picture System). We hypothesized that participants would experience the highest levels of self-transcendent emotions such as awe, gratitude, moral elevation, and spiritual transcendence after viewing the original artistic stimuli. Across studies, participants reported greater state-level self-transcendent emotions but not spiritual transcendence after viewing the original photos, and we found mixed support for the effects of the modified photos. Overall, these findings provide support for the hypotheses that exposure to photographic art increases certain self-transcendent emotions, but mixed evidence as to whether adherence to aesthetic principles enhances the effect of art on these outcomes.