Neuroaesthetics - IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation

The IELTS Reading section assesses candidates' reading abilities through a passage and questions. Candidates must answer 40 questions, each of which has a different question type. The IELTS reading section assesses candidates' comprehension abilities through a variety of task types. This IELTS Reading Answers - Neuroaesthetics includes three types of questions:

• Choose Correct Letter
• Complete the summary by filling the blanks
• Yes/No/Not Given

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The academic passage 'Neuroaesthetics' is a reading passage from an IELTS exam. Read the passage below and respond to questions 1–14. Beyond the questions, you'll find the answers, as well as where they are in the passage and the keywords that will help you find them.

Candidates will find a variety of topics in IELTS reading practice papers that will assist them in improving their scores.

Topic: Neuroaesthetics

1. An emerging discipline called neuroaesthetics is seeking to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art, and has already given us a better understanding of many masterpieces. The blurred imagery of Impressionist paintings seems to stimulate the brain’s amygdala, for instance. Since the amygdala plays a crucial role in our feelings, that finding might explain why many people find these pieces so moving.

Could the same approach also shed light on abstract twentieth-century pieces, from Mondrian’s geometrical blocks of colour, to Pollock’s seemingly haphazard arrangements of splashed paint on canvas? Sceptics believe that people claim to like such works simply because they are famous. We certainly do have an inclination to follow the crowd. When asked to make simple perceptual decisions such as matching a shape to its rotated image, for example, people often choose a definitively wrong answer if they see others doing the same. It is easy to imagine that this mentality would have even more impact on a fuzzy concept like art appreciation, where there is no right or wrong answer.

2. Angelina Hawley-Dolan, of Boston College, Massachusetts, responded to this debate by asking volunteers to view pairs of paintings – either the creations of famous abstract artists or the doodles of infants, chimps and elephants. They then had to judge which they preferred. A third of the paintings were given no captions, while many were labelled incorrectly -volunteers might think they were viewing a chimp’s messy brushstrokes when they were actually seeing an acclaimed masterpiece. In each set of trials, volunteers generally preferred the work of renowned artists, even when they believed it was by an animal or a child. It seems that the viewer can sense the artist’s vision in paintings, even if they can’t explain why.

Robert Pepperell, an artist based at Cardiff University, creates ambiguous works that are neither entirely abstract nor clearly representational. In one study, Pepperell and his collaborators asked volunteers to decide how ‘powerful’ they considered an artwork to be, and whether they saw anything familiar in the piece. The longer they took to answer these questions, the more highly they rated the piece under scrutiny, and the greater their neural activity. It would seem that the brain sees these images as puzzles, and the harder it is to decipher the meaning, the more rewarding is the moment of recognition.

100. And what about artists such as Mondrian, whose paintings consist exclusively of horizontal and vertical lines encasing blocks of colour? Mondrian’s works are deceptively simple, but eye-tracking studies confirm that they are meticulously composed, and that simply rotating a piece radically changes the way we view it. With the originals, volunteers’eyes tended to stay longer on certain places in the image, but with the altered versions, they would flit across a piece more rapidly. As a result, the volunteers considered the altered versions less pleasurable when they later rated the work.

In a similar study, Oshin Vartanian of Toronto University asked volunteers to compare original paintings with ones which he had altered by moving objects around within the frame. He found that almost everyone preferred the original, whether it was a Van Gogh still life or an abstract by Miro. Vartanian also found that changing the composition of the paintings reduced activation in those brain areas linked with meaning and interpretation.

500. In another experiment, Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool analysed the visual intricacy of different pieces of art, and her results suggest that many artists use a key level of detail to please the brain. Too little and the work is boring, but too much results in a kind of ‘perceptual overload’, according to Forsythe. What’s more, appealing pieces both abstract and representational, show signs of ‘fractals’ – repeated motifs recurring in different scales, fractals are common throughout nature, for example in the shapes of mountain peaks or the branches of trees. It is possible that our visual system, which evolved in the great outdoors, finds it easier to process such patterns.

5. It is also intriguing that the brain appears to process movement when we see a handwritten letter, as if we are replaying the writer’s moment of creation. This has led some to wonder whether Pollock’s works feel so dynamic because the brain reconstructs the energetic actions the artist used as he painted. This may be down to our brain’s ‘mirror neurons’, which are known to mimic others’ actions. The hypothesis will need to be thoroughly tested, however. It might even be the case that we could use neuroaesthetic studies to understand the longevity of some pieces of artwork. While the fashions of the time might shape what is currently popular, works that are best adapted to our visual system may be the most likely to linger once the trends of previous generations have been forgotten.

It’s still early days for the field of neuroaesthetics – and these studies are probably only a taste of what is to come. It would, however, be foolish to reduce art appreciation to a set of scientific laws. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the style of a particular artist, their place in history and the artistic environment of their time. Abstract art offers both a challenge and the freedom to play with different interpretations. In some ways, it’s not so different from science, where we are constantly looking for systems and decoding meaning so that we can view and appreciate the world in a new way.

Questions 1-4.

Choose the correct letter i.e. A, B, C, or D.

Fill in the correct letter in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

Q1. In the second paragraph, the writer uses a shape-matching test in order to illustrate

1. the subjective nature of art appreciation.
2. the reliance of modern art on abstract forms.
3. our tendency to be influenced by the opinions of others.
4. a common problem encountered when processing visual data.

Answer: C

Supporting Sentence: We certainly do have an inclination to follow the crowd. When asked to make simple perceptual decisions such as matching a shape to its rotated image, for ex., people often choose a definitively wrong answer if they see others doing the same.

Keywords: shape-matching test, illustrate

Keywords Location: Paragraph 2, Line 4-6

Explanation: This clearly indicates that the writer refers to the shape-matching test in order to demonstrate a human tendency that is influenced by the opinions of others.

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Q2. Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s findings indicate that people

1. mostly favor works of art that they know well.
2. holds fixed ideas about what makes a good work of art.
3. is often misled by their initial expectations of a work of art.
4. has the ability to perceive the intention behind works of art.

Answer: D

Supporting Sentence: In each set of trials, volunteers generally preferred the work of renowned artists, even when they believed it was by an animal or a child. It seems that the viewer can sense the artist's vision in paintings, even if they can't explain why.

Keywords: Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s findings

Keywords Location: Paragraph 3, Last Line

Explanation: As a result, Angelina Hawley-findings Dolan suggests that people can recognize the intention behind the artwork.

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Q3. Results of studies involving Robert Pepperell’s pieces suggest that people

1. can appreciate a painting without fully understanding it.
2. finds it satisfying to work out what a painting represents.
3. vary widely in the time they spend looking at paintings.
4. generally prefers representational art to abstract art.

Answer: B

Supporting Sentence: It would seem that the brain sees these images as puzzles, and the harder it is to decipher the meaning, the more rewarding is the moment of recognition.

Keywords: Results of studies, Robert Pepperell’s, suggest

Keywords Location: Paragraph 4, Line 6-7

Explanation: This suggests that the findings of studies involving Robert Pepperell's pieces suggest that people find it satisfying to figure out what a painting represents.

Q4. What do the experiments described in the fifth paragraph suggest about the paintings of Mondrian?

1. They are more carefully put together than they appear.
2. They can be interpreted in a number of different ways.
3. They challenge our assumptions about shape and color.
4. They are easier to appreciate than many other abstract works.

Answer: A

Supporting Sentence: Mondrian's works are deceptively simple, but eye-tracking studies confirm that they are meticulously composed, & that simply rotating a piece radically changes the way we view it.

Keywords: experiments, suggest, paintings of Mondrian

Keywords Location: Paragraph 5, Line 3-5

Explanation: This implies that Mondrian's paintings are more carefully designed than they appear to be.

Questions 5-7.

Complete the summary using the list of words below, A-H.
Choose the correct letters, A-H, in boxes 5-7 on your answer sheet.
Title of the summary: Art & the Brain

1. interpretation
2. complexity
3. emotions
4. movements
5. skill
6. layout
7. concern
8. images

Q5. The discipline of neuroaesthetics aims to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art. Neurological studies of the brain, for eg., demonstrate the impact which Impressionist paintings have on our ________________.

Answer: C emotions

Supporting Sentence: The blurred imagery of Impressionist paintings seems to stimulate the brain's amygdala, for instance. Since the amygdala plays a crucial role in our feelings, that finding might explain why many people find these pieces so moving.

Keywords: the impact, Impressionist paintings

Keywords Location: first Paragraph, Line 3-5

Explanation: This suggests that Impressionist paintings have a strong emotional impact on us.

Q6. Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool believes many artists give their works the precise degree of _______________which most appeals to the viewer’s brain.

Answer: B Complexity

Supporting Sentence: In another experiment, Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool analyzed the visual intricacy of different pieces of art, and her results suggest that many artists use a key level of detail to please the brain.

Keywords: Alex Forsythe, the precise degree, most appeals to the viewer’s brain

Keywords Location: Paragraph 7, Line 1-3

Explanation: The writer is referring to Alex Forsythe's belief that many artists provide their works with the precise scale of visual intricacy or complexity that most appeals to the viewer's brain.

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Q7. She also observes that pleasing works of art often contain certain repeated _______________ which occur frequently in the natural world.

Answer: H Images

Supporting Sentence: What's more, appealing pieces both abstract and representational, show signs of 'fractals' - repeated motifs recurring in different scales, fractals are common throughout nature, for example in the shapes of mountain peaks or the branches of trees.

Keywords: pleasing works of art, repeated

Keywords Location: Paragraph 7, Line 4-8

Explanation: "What's more, appealing pieces both abstract and representational show signs of 'fractals' -repeated motifs recurring in different scales." Fractals are found all over nature. For instance, in the shapes of mountain peaks or tree branches. It is possible that our visual system, which evolved in the great outdoors, finds such patterns easier to process.

Questions 8-13

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage?
In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write

YES, if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO, if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this

Q8. Forsythe’s findings contradicted previous beliefs on the function of ‘fractals’ in art.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: We find about Alex Forsythe but we find no information regarding any comparison between Forsythe’s findings and any previous beliefs.

Q9. Certain ideas regarding the link between ‘mirror neurons’ and art appreciation require further verification.

Answer: YES

Supporting Sentence: This may be down to our brain's 'mirror neurons, which are known to mimic others' actions. The hypothesis will need to be thoroughly tested, however it might even be the case that we could use neuroaesthetic studies to understand the longevity of some pieces of artwork.

Keywords: link, mirror neurons, art appreciation, further verification

Keywords Location: Paragraph 8, line 1-5

Explanation: It's also intriguing that when we see a handwritten letter, our brain appears to process movement as if we're replaying the writer's moment of creation. Some have speculated that Pollock's works appear to be so dynamic because the brain reconstructs the artist's energetic actions while painting. This could be due to our brain's mirror neurons, which are known to mimic the actions of others. The hypothesis must be thoroughly tested.

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Q10. People’s taste in paintings depends entirely on the current artistic trends of the period.

Answer: NO

Supporting Sentence: While the fashions of the time might shape what is currently popular, works that are best adapted to our visual system may be the most likely to linger once the trends of previous generations have been forgotten.

Keywords: taste, current artistic trends

Keywords Location: Paragraph 8, line 7-9

Explanation: We can safely say that the notion that people's taste in paintings is entirely dependent on current artistic trends of the time is incorrect. It could last as long as people remember previous trends. Here, the trend of the period= fashion of the time.

Q11. Scientists should seek to define the precise rules which govern people’s reactions to works of art.

Answer: NO

Supporting Sentence: It's still early days for the field of neuroaesthetics - and these studies are probably only a taste of what is to come. It would, however, be foolish to reduce art appreciation to a set of scientific laws.

Keywords: define the precise rules, govern, reactions

Keywords Location: Last Paragraph, Line 2-3

Explanation: The author says, it would, however, be foolish to reduce art appreciation by establishing a set of scientific laws. As a result, it is not correct, as can be seen from the lines, for scientists to seek to define the precise rules that govern people's reactions to works of art. Here, rules= laws; people’s reactions to works of art= art appreciation

Q12. Art appreciation should always involve taking into consideration the cultural context in which an artist worked.

Answer: YES

Supporting Sentence: We shouldn't underestimate the importance of the style of a particular artist, their place in history, and the artistic environment of their time.

Keywords: Art appreciation, always, cultural context

Keywords Location: Last Paragraph, Line 3-5

Explanation: This implies that we should take into account the cultural context in which an artist worked.

Q13. It is easier to find meaning in the field of science than in art.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: In the final paragraph, there is a comparison of art and science, but only in terms of "looking for systems and decoding meaning so that we can view and appreciate the world in a new way." There is no comparison in terms of how easy or difficult one's meaning is.

Questions 14.

Choose the correct letter; A, B, C, or D.

Write the correct letter in box 14 on your answer sheet.

Q14. What would be the most appropriate subtitle for the article?

1. Some scientific insights into how the brain responds to abstract art
2. Recent studies focusing on the neural activity of abstract artists
3. A comparison of the neurological bases of abstract and representational art
4. How brain research has altered public opinion about abstract art

Answer: A

Supporting Sentence: An emerging discipline called neuroaesthetics is seeking to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art and has already given us a better understanding of many masterpieces.

Keywords: Impressionist paintings, art

Keywords Location: Paragraph 1

Explanation: the entire article reveals that the writer tries to answer this question with some scientific experiments and theories of scientists and artists on the artwork (Angelina Hawley-Dolan, Robert Pepperell, Mondrian, Oshin Vartanian, Alex Forsythe, and so on).