The Development of Sensitivity to Metaphorical Expression of Moods in Abstract Art

The present study examined the development of sensitivity to positive and negative moods metaphorically expressed through the formal properties of paintings. Subjects aged from 5 to 17 years provided mood labels (happy, sad, angry, or calm) for abstract works that had been rated by adults as saliently expressing one of these four moods. Sensitivity to the expression of all moods developed with age, with correct assignment of moods above chance levels at 7 years and older. Performance of the 7‐year‐olds on the happy works was significantly superior to that on the sad works. Subjects also labelled abstract works that had been rated equivocally in terms of mood by the adults. Significantly more positive than negative feelings were read into the mood‐equivocal works across all ages. These findings are interpreted according to Parsons’ (1987) stage account of aesthetic appreciation. The combined analysis of subjects’ justifications for their choices on all the works confirmed that children can associate formal properties of paintings with moods.