Meaningfulness and Hedonic Value of Paintings: Effects of Titles

Abstract

The effects of presenting titles along with abstract and semi-abstract paintings was examined in two experiments. In the first, subjects rated twenty paintings for meaningfulness, pleasingness, interestingness, abstractness or complexity, in a between-subjects design, and either with or without titles. The titles increased rated meaningfulness and decreased rated abstractness but had no effect upon pleasingness (hedonic value) and the other measures. In the second experiment, it was shown that only the paintings' actual titles, and not bogus ones, increased their meaningfulness. The results are discussed in terms of the notion that titles are an aid to meaningful interpretation of paintings. The finding that titles increased meaningfulness but did not affect hedonic value is inconsistent with the theory that the hedonic value of paintings is linked to cognitive processes associated with the interpretation of their meaning.