The world's shortest poem, haiku, frequently involves ambiguity due to its small amount of information. Previous studies (Hitsuwari & Nomura, 2022; under review) have found a negative relationship between ambiguity and beauty of haiku, and that the amount of reduction in ambiguity explains the beauty of haiku. In this study, we used MRI to examine the relationship between ambiguity and beauty from neuroscientific aspects. 43 participants (27 male, 16 female, M = 21.84) completed rating of graded ambiguity and beauty on 48 haiku within the MRI. Based on previous studies, participants were asked to respond to three types of ambiguity: ambiguity of image, interpretation, and emotion. Behavioral data showed that, as in previous studies, reduced ambiguity explained haiku beauty. Initial analysis of brain imaging data from 10 participants showed that haiku that were rated highly for beauty activated the left MTG, which is associated with consistent and orderly information processing (Suzuki et al., 2008), and the left supramarginal gyrus, which is activated by stories that are considered to be highly literary (Hartung et al., 2021). In other words, the results suggest that during the appreciation of beautiful haiku, ambiguity may be somewhat resolved and orderly information processing may be occurring. On the day of the conference, brain imaging data from 43 participants will be presented.

Authors:
Jimpei Hitsuwari, Kyoto University, Japan
Michio Nomura, Kyoto University, Japan

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Posted by Clive Staples Lewis

Last updated: 2023-02-23 23:45:00

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