Differences in Regional Grey Matter Volume Predict the Extent to which Openness influences Judgments of Beauty and Pleasantness of Interior Architectural Spaces

Abstract

Hedonic evaluation of sensory objects varies from person to person. While this variability has been linked to differences in experience and personality traits, little is known about why stimuli lead to different evaluations in different people. We used linear mixed effect models to determine the extent to which the openness, contour, and ceiling height of interior architectural spaces influenced the beauty and pleasantness ratings of 18 participants. Then, by analyzing structural brain images acquired for the same group of participants we asked if any regional grey matter volume (rGMV) co-varied with these differences in the extent to which openness, contour and ceiling height influence beauty and pleasantness ratings. Voxel-based morphometry analysis revealed that the influence of openness on pleasantness ratings correlated with rGMV in the anterior prefrontal cortex (BA 10), and the influence of openness on beauty ratings correlated with rGMV in the temporal pole (BA 38) and posterior cingulate cortex (BA 31). There were no significant correlations involving contour or ceiling height. Our results suggest that regional variance in grey matter volume may play a role in the computation of hedonic valuation, and account for differences in the way people weigh certain attributes of interior architectural spaces.