The purpose of this study is to explore how the viewers’ previous training is related to their aesthetic viewing in various interactions with the form and the context, in relation to apparel design. Berlyne’s two types of exploratory behavior, diversive and specific, provided a theoretical framework to this study. Twenty female subjects (mean age=21, SD=1.089) participated. Twenty model images, posed by a male and a female model, were shown on an eye-tracker screen for 10 seconds each. The findings of this study verified Berlyne’s concepts of visual exploration. One of the different findings from Berlyne’s theory was that the untrained viewers’ visual attention tended to be more significantly focused on peripheral areas of visual interest, compared to the trained viewers, while there was no significant difference on the central, foremost areas of visual interest between the two groups. The overall aesthetic viewing patterns were also identified.

1. Quantification of Aesthetic Viewing Using Eye-Tracking Technology:
The Influence of Previous Training in Apparel Design
Juyeon Park Marilyn DeLong
Emily Woods University of Minnesota
Colorado State University mdelong@umn.edu
Juyeon.Park@colostate.edu
Emily.Woods@rams.colostate.edu
Abstract Given the background, this study, in particular, focuses on how
viewers’ educational background affects their aesthetic response
The purpose of this study is to explore how the viewers’ previous to others’ appearance. More specifically, this study aims to ex-
training is related to their aesthetic viewing in various interactions plore how the viewers’ previous training is related to their aesthet-
with the form and the context, in relation to apparel design. Ber- ic viewing in various interactions with the form and the context,
lyne’s two types of exploratory behavior, diversive and specific, in relation to apparel design.
provided a theoretical framework to this study. Twenty female
subjects (mean age=21, SD=1.089) participated. Twenty model It has been widely discussed among art and design educators that
images, posed by a male and a female model, were shown on an a more complex aesthetic response can be learned through educa-
eye-tracker screen for 10 seconds each. The findings of this study tion/training. For example, Wilson [1974] asserts that aesthetic
verified Berlyne’s concepts of visual exploration. One of the dif- education is effective in achieving desirable ends, although evi-
ferent findings from Berlyne’s theory was that the untrained dence of effectiveness is hard to materialize. In addition, being
viewers’ visual attention tended to be more significantly focused aware of the evanescent nature of aesthetic response, namely its
on peripheral areas of visual interest, compared to the trained tendency of being hidden and bounded within a private realm,
viewers, while there was no significant difference on the central, DeFurio [1979] argues that aesthetic response can be encouraged
foremost areas of visual interest between the two groups. The within classroom settings. Further, scholars in early childhood
overall aesthetic viewing patterns were also identified. education [Acer & Ömeroðlu 2008; Kemple & Johnson 2002]
verified the effectiveness of training in nurturing young children’s
CR Categories: Visual Attention and Eye Movement Control aesthetic response. Likewise, DeLong [1998] elucidates that edu-
cation increases knowledge and the ability to appreciate objects.
Keywords: Aesthetic response, apparel design, previous training,
eye-tracking technology As noted by previous scholars, although studying aesthetic re-
sponse is one of the most challenging and complicated phenome-
na in human perception research, eye movement analysis has
1 Introduction provided an excellent research tool that has allowed researchers to
go beyond speculation. Speaking of the experimental method in
Understanding of aesthetic response is an imperative ability for aesthetic analysis with a specific interest in training, Solso [1994]
designers to develop products that appeal to large consumer uses the example of a radiologist looking at an X-ray; a trained
groups. Particularly in the field of apparel design, the way people person would know what he or she was looking at and looking
dress and evaluate others’ appearances provides fundamental for, and an untrained person would have a more erratic, unfocused
information about contemporary consumers. DeLong [1998] ex- scan path. Nodine, Locher, and Krupinski [1993] showed a dif-
plains that aesthetic response to apparel design is experienced ference between trained and untrained viewers in aspects of art-
through three different types of interaction that include 1) the work that had been manipulated in visual balance. Findings
form, 2) the viewer, and 3) the context of viewing. The form showed that untrained viewers focused primarily on the represen-
refers to not only clothing itself, but also how details (e.g., lines, tational aspects of the image and how well it represented reality,
shapes, textures, and colors) relate within the whole. These rela- whereas trained viewers focused on elements of the image in
tionships involve the interaction of the clothing with the body of terms of symmetry, balance and form. Informed viewing can also
the wearer (e.g., body proportions, hair colors, skin texture, and affect the scan path of the viewer [Koivunen et al. 2004; Rayner et
color). The viewer is the one who observes the form. A viewer’s al. 2001; Yarbus 1967], whereas a viewer given a specific task or
response to an aesthetic object is influenced by his or her individ- information about an image may view it differently.
ual or collective attributes that include age, gender, preference,
expectations, values and education. The context indicates the im- 2 Theoretical Framework
mediate physical surrounding and the cultural milieu that impacts
viewing.
Berlyne’s theory of psychoaesthetics provides a theoretical
framework for this study [Berlyne 1971]. The two types of explo-
ratory behavior, diversive and specific, are used to explore the
Copyright © 2010 by the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. differences of the trained and untrained viewers’ aesthetic view-
Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or ing patterns. According to Berlyne, diversive exploratory behavior
classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed
for commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the
seeks stimulation regardless of content or sources that has appeal-
first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be ing qualities or properties, while specific exploration occurs in
honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on order to search for further stimulation with a purpose of relieving
servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. uncertainty. Widely dispersed, sparsely populated clusters of fixa-
Request permissions from Permissions Dept, ACM Inc., fax +1 (212) 869-0481 or e-mail
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tions that typically display short gaze duration are associated with
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© 2010 ACM 978-1-60558-994-7/10/0003 $10.00
153

2. diversive exploration. On the other hand, high-densities of fixa- Likert scale. The categories involved 1) hair/eye color, 2) skin
tions and long gaze duration are likely to reflect specific explora- texture/color, 3) clothing color/fabric pattern, 4) image back-
tion. As proposed in a study by Nodine, et al. [1993], this study ground, and 5) accessories. The total duration of each experiment,
assumes that the short gaze duration that seeks out attractive, nov- including the questionnaire completion and the actual eye-
el visual interests, which is diversive exploration (e.g., fixations tracking experiments was approximately 20 minutes.
with less than 300-msec gaze duration), is related to untrained
viewers, and the prolonged gaze duration (e.g., fixations with 4 Results
greater than 400-msec gaze durations) that searches meaning and
significance to the overall visual image tends to be linked to
Factor analysis was employed to determine the variables that ca-
trained viewers.
tegorize the subjects’ answers to the questions in the pre-viewing
questionnaire. The analysis identified the four background factors
that included knowledge (e.g., I consider myself knowledgeable
about art and aesthetics), enjoyment (e.g., I like to observe and
evaluate others’ appearance), technology (e.g., I am comfortable
with using a new technology), and necessity (e.g., I shop clothing
based on necessity). In order to determine the relationship be-
tween training and the background factors, regression analysis
was performed. The number of courses taken (indicator of train-
ing) was significantly related to a particular factor, “enjoyment” at
95% confidence level (F=6.111, p=.024). That is, the more
courses the subjects have taken, the more they tend to enjoy the
circumstances of aesthetic viewing. The different level of training
did not show strong relationships with other background factors.
In order to determine the relationship between subjective human
perception and objective eye-tracking data, the ratings of the five
categories in the post-viewing questionnaire and sum of fixation
duration (total gaze duration) on each areas of interest (AOI) were
compared. For example, in image 1, the subjects rated the catego-
ries of the visual interests in the order of clothing color/fabric
pattern (n=18, mean=5.28, SD=1.195), hair/eye color (n=12,
mean=4.92, SD=1.325), skin (n=8, mean=5.00, SD=1.512), back-
ground (n=4, mean=5.75, SD=1.500). For eye-tracking data anal-
ysis, the five areas of interest (AOIs) were identified: AOI1
(background), AOI2 (face/hair), AOI3 (clothing), AOI4 (skin),
and AOI5 (shoes). Total gaze durations on AOIs were ranked
from the longest to the shortest as such: clothing > skin >
Figure 1. Model images used for the experiments face/hair > background > shoes. In the particular image (Image 1),
although the order of skin and background in eye-tracking data
was reversed, compared to the subjects’ ratings in the question-
3 Methodology naire, the overall order of the visual interests remained similar. A
parallel trend was also found in the rest of the images. This means
Twenty female subjects participated in this study. Average age that the subjects’ self-evaluation on their visual attention was
range was 21 (SD=1.089) and the number of art and design- compatible with eye-tracking data.
related courses taken was 0-15 (mean=6.4, SD=4.044). Twenty
model images that contain four original photos and four manipu- AOI Description Mean Total Fixation Std. Deviation
lated photos per original were used for the experiment (Figure 1). Duration (msec)
Four original photos, posed by a male and a female model, de- AOI1 Background 739.2632 725.25588
picted images with two different ensembles of apparel for each AOI2 Face/Hair 878.0000 1,037.30942
gender. Using computer-aided design (CAD) software, the origi- AOI3 Clothing 1,754.4210 1,533.93702
nal photos were manipulated in accessories, clothing colors, fabric AOI4 Skin 929.8421 751,32308
patterns, hair colors, and backgrounds. Each of the images was AOI5 Shoes 61.4737 84.72529
shown on a 17-inch color eye-tracker (ASL D6) computer screen
for 10 seconds. Figure 2. Total Fixation Duration of AOIs in Image 1
Two questionnaires were administered. Prior to the experiment, Regression analysis was used to find the relationship between the
participants filled out a questionnaire that asked their background subjects’ training level and their aesthetic viewing patterns. When
information such as age, gender, comfort level with technology a model with fewer visual interests was presented on a plain
use and familiarity with art/aesthetics/design, and interest in appa- background such as Image 2 (Figure 2), the more trained the sub-
rel shopping. During the actual experiment, a series of twenty ject was, the lower interfixation distance, that is, the more densi-
images were shown on a computer screen. Immediately after ties of fixations were found in AOI1 (background). That is, when
viewing each image, in another questionnaire, the subjects were a simple context was given, the trained group tends to examine
asked to rate the five categories of visual interests that drew their the wider areas on the image. On the other hand, the peripheral
attention while viewing the image on the computer screen. The areas such as shoes (AOI5) showed a significant difference be-
categories of possible visual interests were rated, using the 7-point tween the trained and untrained group: the less trained, the more
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3. fixations and the longer scanning time (F=6.993, p=.016) around there was no significant difference on the central, foremost areas
the shoes area. This means that when the image is more compli- of visual interest between the two groups. On the other hand, the
cated, while the trained group tends to scan the entire image, the trained viewers’ interfixation duration, namely scanning time, was
untrained group tends to look at particular areas. The same pattern much longer than the untrained viewers, which indicates that the
is also found on the images with a male model. For instance in trained viewers spend more time exploring the relationships
image 19 (refer to Figure 1), with the male model image wearing among the design elements on the image. The overall aesthetic
a shirt with a complex pattern appearing on a complicated street viewing pattern suggests that in aesthetic viewing, people tend to
background, significantly more fixations were found on the shirt examine others' appearance largely in a vertical direction, while
among the untrained, in comparison with the trained group involving various sub-paths of viewing to discern the relation-
(F=4.116, p=0.38). ships of the forms. These findings imply that aesthetic training for
apparel design students is highly desirable, in order not just to
In this study we also discovered several key findings in overall teach them to appreciate others’ appearances in a systematic way,
viewing patterns: 1) if an image contains visual interest on the but more importantly to design products that can maximize con-
model's clothing, the viewer is likely to look at the clothing first sumers’ satisfaction by comprehending their diverse needs in the
and then move to the face. 2) If an image has more complexity on ever-competitive apparel manufacturing market.
the background, the viewer's viewing path tends to encompass
wider areas on the image, because of the viewer's continuous eye 6 References
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