I’ve never been one to care much about beauty in the world around me. Symmetry, colors, angles, curves, light, shadow. I’ve spent so much of my life surviving, that it never occurred to me to notice these things, let alone care about them. But lately, I’ve been noticing the wildflowers dotted all over the crags and hills where I live. Tiny dots of color and beauty and fragility in a less than hospitable setting. I find myself drawn to them, looking for them, and most intriguingly pleased by their very existence.

Their presence lightens my mood. Their tenacity inspires me. Their colors energize me. It led me to wonder about how beauty affects our psychological state. So, I did some research. Turns out there are actually quite a few fields of study that are concerned with this concept: neuroaesthetics, psychogeography, environmental psychology, to name a few. All of these fields are researching a concept that, apparently, has been intuitively known by humanity for quite a while: The beauty of our environment affects our mental state.

And the Research Says. . .

Abraham Maslow, the father of positive psychology, a branch of psychology based on wellness instead of illness, was even interested in this concept back in the 1950s. To test the theory, he set up an experiment that involved three rooms. One beautiful, one neutral, and one downright ugly. He then asked participants to judge a series of headshots for “energy” and “well-being” while in one of these rooms. Even though all participants got the same photos, there were noticeable differences. Individuals in the beautiful room showed much more positive rankings. Interestingly, there were even noticeable differences in the behaviors of the scientists administering the study. Those scientists in the ugly room were much more likely to be irritable, tired, and complaining.

This initial study has since been followed by a variety of other studies, diving much more deeply into this concept. An excellent review of the literature was done by Coburn, Vartanian, and Chatterjee. While this review focused highly on architectural experience, the findings are revealing for all areas of environmental beauty. They used the idea of an esthetic triad to explore the concept of beauty in architecture. Essentially, they believe that there are three main categories that generate experiences of beauty and esthetics: Sensory-motor experience, knowledge-meaning, and emotion-valuation.

The sensory-motor aspect of this triad speaks directly to our sensory systems. How we sense and perceive the environment around us. Humans appear to be drawn to environments with fluency. They prefer the objects in an area to flow well together. This is, in part, because when there is fluency, the stimuli in the area can be more easily processed. The human brain is always looking for ways to ease its burden and conserve energy through shortcuts. Environments that allow the brain to process quickly and efficiently do this.

Interestingly, though, too little information will actually have a negative effect as well. When a building is stripped of visual complexity, (think bare walls, prison cells, etc.), it may actually cause the brain to work harder. The brain is trying to gather information about the environment so that it knows how to react and respond to what is there. If you limit the information available, the brain has to put in more effort to figure things out. The brain does not like this, which means greater perceptions of negativity about the environment.

In the knowledge-meaning corner of the triad, the literature showed that our education, memories, and the context of the situation also influence our perceptions and experiences of beauty. This, of course, makes logical sense. Interestingly to me, though, was how important a role societally learned expectations played a role in perceptions of beauty. If an object, area, or building was identified as special (historic, expensive, artistic, etc.) people would be more likely to perceive it as beautiful or esthetically pleasing than a similar object without the same societal label attached. Other’s perceptions were, in some ways, just as vital as our own in identifying what was beautiful.

Emotion-valuation was also important in people’s perceptions of beauty. Many of these emotional factors seemed to be subconscious or automatic. Such as the tendency to have higher fear responses in enclosed rooms versus open rooms. Or our brains showing a greater affinity for and thus providing higher neurochemical rewards for symmetry and curves. It is incredible how such basic principles as lines and colors can have such a direct, subconscious effect on our physical bodies. Lowering or heightening cortisol (stress hormone) levels, releasing or reducing reward hormones.

Beauty as a Personal Experience

I had always thought about beauty as being very visually based. A focus on or an interest in visual stimulations. But beauty and esthetics are actually an entire experience. And a very personal one at that. A 2010 study conducted in the UK very much highlighted this fact. They used an ethnographic approach to their study, encouraging individual discussions about and immersion in the concept of beauty.

One of their many findings was how often people reference the personal nature of beauty and its experience, using words like “personally” or “to me” when discussing beauty and esthetics. It was not just that the perceptions of beauty were subjective, but also an admittance that the discussion of one’s perception of beauty was an intimate discussion about one’s self.

The most intriguing thing in this study, though, was how our life circumstances effect our acknowledgment, perception, and appreciation of beauty. For example, individuals under the age of 45 typically experienced beauty through other people, fashion, or consumer products. While those individuals between the ages of 45 and 64 were more likely to experience beauty in the natural environment.

The experience of beauty was also greatly affected by the amount of advantage and privilege the individual had. The researchers broke down their participants into two groups: advantaged (“professionals” with higher education) and disadvantaged (unemployed or “unskilled” workers with less education). Individuals in the disadvantaged group typically had not been exposed to a wider variety of circumstances that would allow for interaction with beautiful things. Individuals in the disadvantaged group also felt that functionality, sustainability, and affordability were much more important than beauty as compared to individuals in the advantaged group.

This study mirrored the literature review, though, indicating that exposure to beauty and immersion in the experience of beauty leads to greater well-being. Higher spirits, increased self-esteem, lower stress, and feelings of happiness are all noted effects of immersion in the experience of beauty. And this increased well-being meant that the individuals were more likely to seek out, perceive, and appreciate beauty. Thus, creating a cycle of well-being.

Beauty in Our Lives

Now I am not going to say that beauty will solve our mental health struggles. But after looking at the research and reading some of these studies, I do believe that beauty and esthetics can definitely have a positive impact on our mental health. And that, sadly, those of us with mental health struggles and/or limited privilege are less likely to be exposed to or open to this avenue of potential growth and sustainment.

Maybe this is why I never really cared about beauty before. I had been too busy surviving, deprogramming, and struggling. Now that I am stable enough to begin seeing the beauty around me, though, I want to keep seeing it. I want to purposely seek out beauty when and where I can find it. To begin experiencing beauty not as a foreign concept that has nothing to do with me, but as a lived experience that is part of my life.

What about you? If you’ve read this far, you have seen what the studies have said. But what are your lived experiences of beauty? How have esthetics impacted or failed to impact your life and well-being? Comment below and let me know!

Resources

Maslow’s research on the impact of surroundings on our perceptions

How a Beautiful Room can Change Your Mind by Donald Rattner

How our surroundings affect the way we think and feel by Rosanna Ryan

People and places: Public attitudes to beauty a study commissioned by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Buildings, Beauty, and the Brain: A Neuroscience of Architectural Experience by Alex Coburn, Oshin Vartanian, and Anjan Chatterjee

The Psychology of Environmental Beauty: How Esthetics Affect our Mental Health

Fairy Godmother Syndrome: The Limitations of Loving Others through Problem-Solving

The I Can’t Attitude: Realism, Manipulation, or Something Else?