Aesthetics and Learning
In the Aesthetics and Learning lab, we aim to understand how aesthetic experiences can be a source of learning and what can be learned from aesthetic experience. The lab takes a blended approach that aims to transfer findings from controlled experimental laboratory settings to ecologically valid real-life informal learning settings with a particular focus on museums.
Focus of the lab
Our aim is to uncover generalisable patterns and to understand which factors (e.g. the type of media people engage with) can influence and shape both the aesthetic experience and the learning process. We use a broad conceptualisation of learning that does not focus exclusively on knowledge transfer but also considers e.g., sense-making, experience-based learning, epistemic emotions and episodic memories. The lab uses a variety of methods (e.g. eye-tracking, VR) covering the entire continuum from computer-based tasks to real-life engagement.
Employees
Dr. Gemma Schino
Deputy Head of Lab
+49 7071 979-293g.schino@iwm-tuebingen.deNina Schmidt
Team assistance
+49 7071 979-291n.schmidt@iwm-tuebingen.deAnna Lena Knoll
Scientist
+49 7071 979-294a.knoll@iwm-tuebingen.de
Projects
Quantum Arcade: video games as a tool to communicate concepts of quantum computing
Aesthetics and Learning
Duration 02/2026 - 01/2027
Quantum Arcade Evaluation: In this project (already running) we take over the evaluation part where a previous partner had to drop out. Basically 2 arcade games have been developed that are exhibited in museums. Through playing these games, people can learn about (complex) quantum physics. Our aim is to see how this informal learning takes shape by comparing both the two games (that are designed differently) as well as interaction in a museum vs. a workshop setting.
Go to project
Publications
Articles (peer-reviewed)
- Chana, K., Dehove, M., Mikuni, J., Specker, E., Knoll, A. L., Barrière, T., Trupp, M. D., Pelowski, M., Oberzaucher, E., & Leder, H. (2026). Aesthetic components of urban environments and their relation to wellbeing: A scoping review. Cities & Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2025.2569732
- Fekete, A., Specker, E., Mikuni, J., Trupp, M. D., & Leder, H. (2025). When the painting meets its musical inspiration: The impact of multimodal art experience on aesthetic enjoyment and subjective well-being in the museum. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 19(6), 1549-1564. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000641
- Knoll, A. L., Mikuni, J., & Specker, E. (2025). Looking at people looking at art: Observations of art interactions in an everyday urban environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1658946. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1658946
Open AccessDataStudy materialCode
- Ruta, N.*, Schino, G.*, Wolfe, B., & Iosifyan, M. (2025). Ready-made bodily sensations. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 30223. *shared first authorship. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14061-5
- Specker, E., Cotter, K. N., & Kim, K. Y. (2025). The next step for the VAIAK: An item-focused analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 19(4), 684-695. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000559
- Specker, E. (2025). A personal perspective on psychology of aesthetics and the arts: Ecologically valid, interdisciplinary, and diverse methodologies. Creativity Research Journal, 37(2), 293-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2023.2269339
- Rodriguez-Boerwinkle, R.M., & Specker, E. (2024). Building bridges: The importance of bringing together the empirical sciences & the humanities. Itinera, 28, 34‑50. https://doi.org/10.54103/2039-9251/27833
- Hostler, T., Poerio, G., Nader, C., Mank, S., Lin, A., Villena-González, M., Plutzik, N., Ahuja, N., Baker, D., Bannister, S., Barratt, E., Bedwell, S., Billot, P.-E., Blakey, E., Cardini, F., Cash, D., Davis, N., Del Sette, B., Erfanian, M., ... Zehetgrube, J. (2024). Research priorities for autonomous sensory meridian response: An interdisciplinary Delphi study. Multisensory Research, 37(6-8), 499-528. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134808-bja10136
- Pelowski, M., Cotter, K. N., Specker, E., Fingerhut, J., Trupp, M. D., & Speidel, K. (2024). How lasting is the impact of art? An exploratory study of the incidence and duration of art exhibition-induced prosocial attitude change using a 2-week daily diary method. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000670
- Specker, E.*, Douda, M.*, & Leder, H. (2024). How do we understand artworks? Exploring the role of artwork inherent features in art processing. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 42(2), 469-497. *shared first authorship. https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231201074
- Specker, E., Knoll, A. L., Barrière, T., & Leder, H. (2024). Varieties of aesthetic experience: Considering breadth, length, and depth. Nodes, 23, 85-91. https://doi.org/10.57633/NODES-23/2-ENG
- Specker, E. (2024). Further validating the VAIAK: Defining a psychometric model, configural measurement invariance, reliability, and practical guidelines. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 18(3), 449-462. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000427
- Knoll, A. L., Barrière, T., Weigand, R., Jacobsen, T., Leder, H., & Specker, E. (2024). Experiencing beauty in everyday life. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 9463. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60091-w
- Kühnapfel, C., Fingerhut, J., Brinkmann, H., Ganster, V., Tanaka, T., Specker, E., Mikuni, J., Güldenpfennig, F., Gartus, A., Rosenberg, R., & Pelowski, M. (2024). How do we move in front of art? How does this relate to art experience? Linking movement, eye tracking, emotion, and evaluations in a gallery-like setting. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 42(1), 86-146. https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231160000
- Pelowski, M.*, Specker, E.*, Boddy, J., Immelmann, B., Haiduk, F., Spezie, G., Ibáñez de Aldecoa, P., Jean-Joseph, H., Leder, H., & Markey, P. S. (2023). Together in the dark? Investigating the understanding and feeling of intended emotions between viewers and professional artists at the Venice Biennale. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 17(6), 772-792. *shared first authorship. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000436
- Boddy, J., Brinkmann, H., Specker, E., Forster, M., Leder, H., & Rosenberg, R. (2023). The universality of aesthetic effects. Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und Allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft, 68(2), 148-170. https://doi.org/10.28937/9783787345656_13
- Specker, E. (2023). Review of the Routledge International Handbook of Neuroaesthetics edited by Martin Skov & Marcos Nadal. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 18(3), 464. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000632
- Fekete, A., Pelowski, M., Specker, E., Brieber, D., Rosenberg, R., & Leder, H. (2023). The Vienna Art Picture System (VAPS): A data set of 999 paintings and subjective ratings for art and aesthetics research. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 17(5), 660-671. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000460
- Trupp, M. D., Bignardi, G., Specker, E., Vessel, E. A., & Pelowski, M. (2023). Who benefits from online art viewing, and how: The role of pleasure, meaningfulness, and trait aesthetic responsiveness in computer-based art interventions for well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 145, Article 107764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107764
- Specker, E., Arató, J., & Leder, H. (2023). How are real artworks and reproductions judged? The role of anchoring in empirical investigations of the genuineness effect. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 108, Article 104494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104494
- Specker, E., Fekete, A., Trupp, M. D., & Leder, H. (2023). Is a “real” artwork better than a reproduction? A meta-analysis of the genuineness effect. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 17(3), 294-306. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000399
- Pittelkow, M.-M., Field, S. M., Isager, P. M., van’t Veer, A. E., Anderson, T., Cole, S. N., Dominik, T., Giner-Sorolla, R., Gok, S., Heyman, T., Jekel, M., Luke, T. J., Mitchell, D. B., Peels, R., Pendrous, R., Sarrazin, S., Schauer, J. M., Specker, E., Tran, U. S., ... van Ravenzwaaij, D. (2023). The process of replication target selection in psychology: what to consider? Royal Society Open Science, 10(2), Article 210586. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210586
- Trupp, M. D., Bignardi, G., Chana, K., Specker, E., & Pelowski, M. (2022). Can a brief interaction with online, digital art improve wellbeing? A comparative study of the impact of online art and culture presentations on mood, state-anxiety, subjective wellbeing, and loneliness. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 782033. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.782033
- Fekete, A., Maidhof, R. M., Specker, E., Nater, U. M., & Leder, H. (2022). Does art reduce pain and stress? A registered report protocol of investigating autonomic and endocrine markers of music, visual art, and multimodal aesthetic experience. PLOS ONE, 17(4), Article e0266545. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266545
- Mikuni, J., Specker, E., Pelowski, M., Leder, H., & Kawabata, H. (2022). Is there a general “art fatigue” effect? A cross-paradigm, cross-cultural study of repeated art viewing in the laboratory. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 16(2), 343-360. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000396
- Specker, E., & Leder, H. (2022). Testing the facsimile accommodation hypothesis. Acta Psychologica, 222, Article 103482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103482
- Matzinger, T., Specker, E., Ritt, N., & Fitch, T. (2021). Aesthetic perception of prosodic patterns as a factor in speech segmentation. Proceedings of the 43. Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci), 43. https://doi.org/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4tm94762
- Specker, E., Fried, E. I., Rosenberg, R., & Leder, H. (2021). Associating with art: a network model of aesthetic effects. Collabra: Psychology, 7(1), Article 24085. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.24085
- Lukács, G., & Specker, E. (2020). Dispersion matters: Diagnostics and control data computer simulation in concealed information test studies. PLOS ONE, 15(10), Article e0240259. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240259
- Pelowski, M., Specker, E., Gerger, G., Leder, H., & Weingarden, L. S. (2020). Do you feel like I do? A study of spontaneous and deliberate emotion sharing and understanding between artists and perceivers of installation art. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 14(3), 276-293. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000201
- Specker, E., Forster, M., Brinkmann, H., Boddy, J., Immelmann, B., Goller, J., Pelowski, M., Rosenberg, R., & Leder, H. (2020). Warm, lively, rough? Assessing agreement on aesthetic effects of artworks. PLOS ONE, 15(5), Article e0232083. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232083
- Reitstätter, L., Brinkmann, H., Santini, T., Specker, E., Dare, Z., Bakondi, F., Miscená, A., Kasneci, E., Leder, H., & Rosenberg, R. (2020). The display makes a difference: A mobile eye tracking study on the perception of art before and after a museum’s rearrangement. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 13(2), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.13.2.6
- Specker, E., Forster, M., Brinkmann, H., Boddy, J., Pelowski, M., Rosenberg, R., & Leder, H. (2020). The Vienna Art Interest and Art Knowledge questionnaire (VAIAK): A unified and validated measure of art interest and art knowledge. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 14(2), 172-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000205
- Pelowski, M., Graser, A., Specker, E., Forster, M., von Hinüber, J., & Leder, H. (2019). Does gallery lighting really have an impact on appreciation of art? An ecologically valid study of lighting changes and the assessment and emotional experience with representational and abstract paintings. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2148. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02148
- Lauring, J. O., Pelowski, M., Specker, E., Ishizu, T., Haugbøl, S., Hollunder, B., Leder, H., Stender, J., & Kupers, R. (2019). Parkinson’s disease and changes in the appreciation of art: A comparison of aesthetic and formal evaluations of paintings between PD patients and healthy controls. Brain and Cognition, 136, Article 103597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2019.103597
- Grüner, S., Specker, E., & Leder, H. (2019). Effects of context and genuineness in the experience of art. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 37(2), 138-152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276237418822896
- Specker, E., & Leder, H. (2018). Looking on the bright side: Replicating the association between brightness and positivity. Collabra: Psychology, 4(1), Article 34. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.168
- Pelowski, M., Leder, H., Mitschke, V., Specker, E., Gerger, G., Tinio, P. P., Vaporova, E., Bieg, T., & Husslein-Arco, A. (2018). Capturing aesthetic experiences with installation art: An empirical assessment of emotion, evaluations, and mobile eye tracking in Olafur Eliasson’s “Baroque, Baroque!”. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 1255. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01255
- Specker, E., Leder, H., Rosenberg, R., Hegelmaier, L. M., Brinkmann, H., Mikuni, J., & Kawabata, H. (2018). The universal and automatic association between brightness and positivity. Acta Psychologica, 186, 47-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.04.007
- Specker, E., Tinio, P. P., & van Elk, M. (2017). Do you see what I see? An investigation of the aesthetic experience in the laboratory and museum. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(3), 265-275. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000107
- van Elk, M., Karinen, A., Specker, E., Stamkou, E., & Baas, M. (2016). ‘Standing in awe’: The effects of awe on body perception and the relation with absorption. Collabra: Psychology, 2(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.36
Books and book chapters
- Specker, E., & Leder, H. (2026). Fragebogen: Mithilfe geeigneter Fragen subjektive Ausstellungserfahrungen erforschen. In L. Reitstätter & C.-M. Schorr (Hrsg.). Methoden der Ausstellungsanalyse (1 Aufl., S. 133-142). transcript.
- Specker, E. (2025). Die Farbe der Gefühle: Eine psychologische Betrachtung. In L. F. Mattheis & J. Schmidt-Boddy (Hrsg.). Into the Dark – Grafik von Ensor bis Munch (S. 48-51). Saarlandmuseum – Moderne Galerie.
- Tinio, P. P., & Specker, E. (2023). For emotion’s sake … The centrality of emotions in the art experience. In Z. Ivcevic, J. D. Hoffmann, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and Emotions (pp. 358-375). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009031240.024
- Specker, E., & Pelowski, M. (2022). How can engagement in the arts effect our emotional lives? In Z. Ivcevic (Ed.). Creativity, emotions, and the arts: Research, application, and impact. Fundación Botín Report (pp. 74-83). Centro Botín.
- Pelowski, M., & Specker, E. (2020). The general impact of context on aesthetic experience. In M. Nadal, & O. Vartanian (Eds.). The Oxford handbook of empirical aesthetics (pp. 885-920). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198824350.013.42
- Tinio, P. P., & Specker, E. (2020). Observation method in empirical aesthetics. In M. Nadal & O. Vartanian (Eds.). The Oxford handbook of empirical aesthetics (pp. 219-234). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198824350.013.10
Other publications
- Hochstetter, G., Peiffer-Siebert, L., Özbek, O., Molitor, M. K., Maiero, J., & Brucker, B. (in press). Virtuelle Realität im Kunstunterricht - Architektur und Plastik in VR ästhetisch erleben und verstehen. BDKinform 2025: Das Mitteilungsblatt des BDK-Landesverbandes Baden-Württemberg.
- Fekete, A., Maidhof, R. M., Specker, E., Gartus, A., Nater, U. M., & Leder, H. (2025). Registered report: How does art impact pain and stress? Exposure to multimodal art (music + visual) and music alone enhances pain tolerance more than visual art, but neither art form impacts autonomic or endocrine markers. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/mfwev_v1
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- Brinkmann, H., Boddy, J., Immelmann, B., Specker, E., Pelowski, M., Leder, H., & Rosenberg, R. (2018). Ferocious colors and peaceful lines describing and measuring aesthetic effects. Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte, 65(1), 7-26. https://doi.org/10.7767/wjk.2018.65.1.7