科研成果详情

Individuals vary widely in their capacity for visual imagery, with some possessing exceptionally vivid mental imaginations while others struggle to form clear mental images of visual stimuli. These differences may contribute to the considerable variation in aesthetic appreciation of visual artwork. Here we aim to explore the association between visual imagery ability and the aesthetic appreciation of Dunhuang murals, with a particular focus on the role of color in this association. Forty-one participants were enlisted to assess 24 sets of murals in both their original color and black- and-white versions. The findings revealed a general preference for the vibrant original murals, but a deeper level of understanding for the achromatic images. This suggests that an increase in cognitive processing difficulty, such as the absence of color in the Dunhuang murals, may have facilitated a more profound comprehension and appreciation of the murals. Furthermore, individuals with superior mental imagery skills exhibited a more profound understanding of the achromatic murals compared to those with less vivid imagery skills. The implications of this research are diverse and relevant to practical applications, particularly in the fields of education, museum curation, and digital imaging, as it caters to diverse audience characteristics and expectations.