Aesthetic images modulate emotional responses to reading news messages on a small screen: A psychophysiological investigation

Abstract pictures, such as artistic drawings, may evoke subtle emotions in their observers via aesthetic experiences. We examined among 44 participants the emotional responses as measured by facial electromyography (EMG) to aesthetic background images that varied on the emotional valence (unpleasant to pleasant) and arousal (calming to exciting) dimensions and were presented both separately and as background images for news messages. Effects of image arousal on free recall of news messages were also examined. A priori pleasant compared to unpleasant images were associated with higher orbicularis oculi EMG responses, both when presented alone and when presented as news message backgrounds. Analyses based on the participants' subjective pleasantness ratings also showed greater corrugator supercilii EMG activity for unpleasant compared to pleasant images. High-arousal as compared to low-arousal images improved recall for the superimposed news messages. In contrast, recall was not affected by a priori image valence or subjective pleasantness ratings. The results demonstrate that abstract images can be used to evoke emotional responses in the viewers that persist even when unrelated messages are superimposed on them. Similarly, high-arousal images can be used to enhance memory for superimposed textual messages.

► We present aesthetic images as backgrounds for textual news messages.
► Pleasant vs. unpleasant images evoke distinctive facial EMG responses.
► News with high- vs. low-arousal background images are recalled better.
► Image aesthetics modulates emotional and cognitive processing of associated stimuli.