Universal Journal of Psychology 2(8): 248-254 2014 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ujp.2014.020802 An Introduction to the Aesthetic Precognition: Threat or Opportunity for Contemporary Art? Giuseppe Galetta Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychological Area, University of Cassino and Southern Latio (Uniclam), Campus “Folcara”, 03043 Cassino (FR), Italy *Corresponding Author: giuseppe.galetta@unicas.it Copyright © 2014 Horizon Research Publishing All rights reserved. Abstract This paper presents some findings of an ongoing experiment on the Beauty perception and aesthetic appreciation of the artworks, based for the first time on the use the most popular social network: Facebook. Exploiting the system of “like” and “share”, on which Facebook is based, thousands of artwork images were submitted to a sample of over 10,000 users worldwide. Through the metrics analysis related to the aesthetic preferences expressed by the users, it was observed they are inclined to react the same way towards certain visual stimuli coming from artwork images: specific compositional characteristics of the artworks are able to influence the aesthetic preferences of the viewers towards some artworks rather than others. The steady repetition of aesthetic preferences related to same compositional elements present in the artworks allowed to predict the subsequent aesthetic choices by the viewers towards not yet posted artworks. We identified some of these responsive elements, which would be able to activate the Beauty recognition and the Aesthetic Pleasure in the perceivers. In this way it would be possible to develop an Aesthetic Algorithm able to identify the share of Beauty required to activate the Aesthetic Pleasure, by introducing specific responsive elements in the artworks with the aim of predicting, and also predetermining, the viewers reactions. The knowledge of the perceptual mechanisms capable of activating the Aesthetic Pleasure might allow to predict and influence beforehand the aesthetic preferences of viewers toward the artworks, with many implications for the current Art Market. We described this predictive analysis of aesthetic appreciation of the viewers as Aesthetic Precognition. Keywords Psychology of Art, Neuroesthetics, Empirical Aesthetics, Perception, Precognition, Facebook 1. Introduction Is it possible to identify the compositional characteristics of an artwork, that are able to activate the brain areas responsible for the Beauty recognition, inducing the Aesthetic Pleasure in the viewers? Maybe all of us are driven by a specific form of aesthetic determinism when we admire and appreciate an artwork? If we were able to predict the aesthetic preferences of the public towards an artwork, maybe could we talk about Aesthetic Precognition? According to recent studies in the field of Neuroesthetics, the process of aesthetic appreciation by the perceivers has a neurophysiological basis [1,2]. Comparing the findings of these studies with the Processing Fluency theory of aesthetic pleasure [3], that emphasizes the interaction between the perceiver and an object, focusing on the effects of objective stimulus attributes on perceived Beauty, we hypothesized that Beauty perception and Aesthetic Pleasure of the viewers are predetermined by specific visual characteristics of the artworks. Based on this insight, we analyzed the aesthetic preferences expressed by a wide sample of viewers towards several artwork images posted on Facebook: it was noted that most of viewers reacts the same way in front of precise visual stimuli. The presence of specific compositional elements within the artworks would be able to influence the aesthetic judgment: this would not be subjective and based on inborn or acquired preferences, but resides in the features of the viewed object, that stimulate the Aesthetic Pleasure of the viewer. So the viewer’s brain would be adapted to these hedonically marked features of the artworks. Here we anticipate some findings of an empirical study, still in progress, that we are conducting in innovative and unconventional way through the use of the most popular social network (Facebook), in order to explore a new field of investigation based on the intersection among Psychology of Perception, Neuroesthetics and Information Technology. We decided to use Facebook because it is currently the largest site of statistical aggregation in an increasingly connected and technology-driven world, but at the present stage of research we have opted not include numbers, because we are still developing a new methodology of