How are real artworks and reproductions judged?

Author(s)
Eva Specker, Jozsef Arato, Helmut Leder
Abstract

The anchoring effect is one of the most robust findings in psychology. In its most general form, the anchoring effect entails that people make relative judgements and decisions compared to some reference point or “anchor”. In the current study, we investigate if the anchoring effect could explain why a genuineness effect—a difference in aesthetic experience between a physical work of art and its (digital) reproduction—has so far not been found in empirical work. As our world becomes more digital, our interactions with art increasingly occur online through reproductions. Therefore, a better understanding of the genuineness effect—or lack thereof—could have a farreaching impact in how we engage with art in a digital world. Our results indicate that an anchoring effect
cannot explain a lack of empirical evidence for the genuineness effect. We discuss how our results can push both the specific research on genuineness and the related discussions of digitalization and the arts, but also psychological research into art experience, further.

Organisation(s)
Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Vienna Cognitive Science Hub
Journal
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume
108
ISSN
0022-1031
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104494
Publication date
06-2023
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
501030 Cognitive science, 501011 Cognitive psychology
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/d3b44dce-24a3-41dc-bb66-3c851a6f342d