Demographic Differences and Biases in Affect Evoked by Visual Features

Visual stimuli influence our affective state and reactions, subsequently shaping our preferences. These interactions fall within the domain of affective computing research. Furthermore, affective state and emotions could be influenced by the demographic differences in affective and aesthetic reactions to visual stimuli. This study aims to examine the extent to which demographic factors, such as gender and culture, moderate the associations between prevalent aesthetic features and a range of emotions, represented by valence, arousal, and dominance dimensions. Additionally, this research delves into the identification of latent demographic groups within our participant pool to gain a more nuanced understanding of the interplay among various demographic factors. To accomplish this, more than 40,000 images were collected from web albums and subsequently rated through crowdsourcing based on the emotional and aesthetic response they evoke. The findings of this study reveal that certain colors and aspect ratios elicited distinct valence and dominance reactions depending on the gender of the participant. Furthermore, disparities between Western and Eastern cultures emerged in the relationship between mean brightness and arousal. Latent group analyses identified four primary groups that exhibited differential responses to specific visual attributes. This investigation contributes to the growing body of literature on affective computing, offering valuable insights into the role of demographic factors in shaping emotional and aesthetic responses to visual stimuli.