Dimensions of the Experience of Beauty

The purpose of the present study was to specify the underlying structure of the subjective experience of beauty in different object categories. In the Main study participants rated 120 stimuli (24 images X 5 object categories) on 64 descriptors. A principal component analysis extracted nine basic dimensions (6–8 per category). Component structures are similar cross-category. Fantastic, Striking, and Harmonious beauty are common to all categories, Elegant, Cute, Relaxing, Magical and Grandiose beauty are common to most categories, whereas Erotic beauty is specific only for Humans. We proposed a functional model hypothesizing that different dimensions of beauty reflect the satisfaction of the different needs of subject related to different psychobiological domains ranging from the reward system (Fantastic beauty) through the information processing (Harmonious, Elegant, Striking, and Magical beauty) to instinctive functions, such as protection (Cute beauty), security (Relaxing beauty), submission (Grandiose beauty), and sex (Erotic beauty).