A research team lead by Marschallek studied links between the personality factor need for uniqueness and visual aesthetic sensitivity. The investigators asked study “participants to complete the German adaptation of the Need for Uniqueness scale (NfU-G) and the Visual Aesthetic Sensitivity Test (VAST) – including the VAST-Revised (VAST-R). The NfU-G measures the need to set oneself apart from others, whereas the VAST(-R) tests the ability to identify the objective aesthetic goodness of a figural composition…the higher a participant scores on the NfU-G scale, the lower the percentage of correctly identified drawings on the VAST(-R)…Thus, the results suggest that participants who strive for individuality exhibit lower visual aesthetic sensitivity since they tend to violate norms in order to assert their uniqueness.”
Barbara Marschallek, Selina Weiler, Mona Jorg, and Thomas Jacobson. “Make It Special! Negative Correlations Between the Need for Uniqueness and Visual Aesthetic Sensitivity.” Empirical Studies of the Arts, in press, https://doi.org/10.1177/0276237419880298
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.