The motive for sensory pleasure: enjoyment of nature and its representation in painting, music, and literature.
Eight studies assessed the motive for sensory pleasure (MSP) involving a general disposition to enjoy and pursue pleasant nature-related experiences and avoid unpleasant nature-related experiences. The stated enjoyment of pleasant sights, smells, sounds, and tactile sensations formed a unitary construct that was distinct from sensation seeking, novelty preference, and need for cognition. MSP was found to be related to (a) enjoyment of pleasant nature scenes and music of high but not low clarity; (b) enjoyment of writings that portrayed highly detailed nature scenes; (c) enjoyment of pleasantly themed paintings and dislike of unpleasant paintings, as distinct from findings with Openness to Experience; (d) choice of pleasant nature scenes over exciting or intellectually stimulating scenes; (e) view duration and memory of artistically rendered quilts; (f) interest in detailed information about nature scenes; and (g) frequency of sensory-type suggestions for improvement of a museum exhibit.
Eisenberger
Robert
R
Psychology Department, University of Houston, 126 Heyne Building, Houston, TX 77204, USA. reisenberger2@ud.edu
Sucharski
Ivan L
IL
Yalowitz
Steven
S
Kent
Robert J
RJ
Loomis
Ross J
RJ
Jones
Jason R
JR
Paylor
Sarah
S
Aselage
Justin
J
Mueller
Meta Steiger
MS
McLaughlin
John P
JP
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008091:Literature; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009042:Motivation; D009144:Museums; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D019368:Nature; D010151:Paintings / Q000523:psychology*; D057181:Pleasure; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012677:Sensation; D013997:Time Factors