Latest

aesthetics

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·July 9, 2026·10 min read

Modern Design Geometry Causes Visual Stress and Brain Overload

A new study establishes the neurological basis for visual discomfort caused by human-made environments.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 3, 2024·5 min read

How Previous Food Choices Influence Future Decisions

Research shows that when rating food for appeal or calorie content, judgments are influenced by the food choices we’ve made just before. This effect, known as serial dependence, causes people to rate the next food similarly to the previous one, whether it’s more appealing or less.

$This shows a math equation$

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 10, 2019·6 min read

We like our math like we like our art: Beautiful

The average American can assess mathematical arguments for beauty just as they can for art or music. Using nine criteria for beauty, including elegance, intricacy, and universality, people were more likely to agree about the specific ways four different proofs were beautiful. The study sheds new light on broader issues in how and why humans have aesthetic experiences of abstract ideas.

Featured Psychology

·August 21, 2018·3 min read

Beauty is Simpler, and Less Special, Than We Realize

Analyzing the work of great philosophers and recent neuroscience research, researchers conclude certain simple features, such as symmetry and roundness, make things more attractive to us.

Image shows a sad lookinh woman in a movie theatre.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 4, 2017·3 min read

Beautifully Sad: Why We Enjoy Negative Emotions in Movies and Art

Why do we seem to enjoy movies and art that are emotionally negative or designed to make us feel sad? Researchers from Max Planck Institute have developed a new model that may help explain this paradox.