Conscious vs. Preconscious Affective Priming Modulate Beauty Ratings and Gaze Patterns in AI-Generated Paintings

Abstract

Research on how affective priming influences art appreciation remains limited and contradictory. This study examined how unpleasant versus neutral primes affect beauty ratings and eye-movement patterns across abstract, landscape, and portrait paintings, comparing conscious (1000 ms) and preconscious (50 ms) prime presentations. Fifty-two participants rated 120 AI-generated paintings at baseline, then re-evaluated them two weeks later following affective primes while eye movements were recorded. Results revealed that painting category independently influenced rating changes, with abstract paintings showing larger decreases than landscapes and portraits. Critically, unpleasant primes reduced beauty ratings only under conscious presentation (p = .006), with no effect during preconscious viewing. Eye-tracking data (N = 48) showed the conscious group displayed less exploratory viewing behavior—fewer fixations, saccades, and shorter scan-paths—regardless of prime valence. Painting type also modulated scan-path length. These findings demonstrate that conscious awareness is necessary for negative affect to bias aesthetic judgments, while awareness level independently constrains visual exploration patterns.

Keywords

affective priming aesthetic evaluation abstract art consciousness eye tracking

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