The Interplay Among Aesthetic Quality, Song Popularity and Aesthetic Chills
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Abstract
This experimental study investigated the potential interplay among the experience of aesthetic chills in nonexperts, song popularity, and music quality in rock songs as assessed by experts. Aesthetic chills are defined as intense tingling sensations that spread throughout the body in response to music or other aesthetic sources (Panksepp, 1995). We manipulated song popularity and song quality using 12 songs varying along these factors. We found that participants “correctly” perceived songs that experts consider high in aesthetic quality to be higher in quality compared to songs that experts consider low in aesthetic quality, regardless of song popularity. However, an even stronger effect was also found: participants perceived songs high in popularity (and thus more familiar to them) to be higher in quality compared to songs low in popularity (and thus less familiar to them), regardless of actual expert-rated quality. In other words, the participants rated popular songs as higher quality than less popular songs, regardless of expert ratings. The tendency to experience aesthetic chills followed a similar pattern, suggesting that feeling such chills can be one mediator of perceptions of quality. We discuss how the tendency for nonexperts to focus more on familiarity than expert-rated aesthetic quality in their perceptions of song quality aligns with previous music research.
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