Engagement with Beauty Scale

In regard to all responses below:  Keep in mind that we are only asking about your experience with perceiving and feeling something as beautiful.  We are not asking if you like something; we are not asking if you think something is important; we only ask if you feel it as beautiful.

Mark each statement below with a number between 1 and 7:

                     1 = very unlike me;  2 = unlike me;  3=a little unlike me 

4 = neutral; 5 = a little like me;   6 = like me;      7 = very much like me

Statements 1-4 below refer to experiences with nature and the physical world, including, mountains, rocks rivers, lakes, oceans, deserts, plants, flowers, trees, animals, etc. (but NOT the human body).

____1. I notice beauty in one or more aspects of nature.

____2. When perceiving beauty in nature I feel changes in my body, such as a lump in my throat, an expansion in my chest, faster heart beat, or other bodily responses.

____3. When perceiving beauty in nature I feel emotional, it “moves me,” such as feeling a sense of awe, or wonder or excitement or admiration or upliftment.

____4. When perceiving beauty in nature I feel something like a spiritual experience, perhaps a sense of oneness, or being united with the universe, or a love of the entire world.

Statements 5-8 below refer to experiences with art, such as paintings, sculpture, music, dance, architecture, poetry, novels, literature, etc.

 ____5. I notice beauty in art or human made objects.

___6. When perceiving beauty in a work of art I feel changes in my body, such as a lump in my throat, an expansion in my chest, faster heart beat, or other bodily responses.

____7. When perceiving beauty in a work of art I feel emotional, it “moves me,” such as feeling a sense of awe, or wonder or excitement or admiration or upliftment.

____8. When perceiving beauty in a work of art  I feel something like a spiritual experience, perhaps a sense of oneness, or being united with the universe, or a love of the entire world.

Statements 9-14 below refer to experiences with humans, in which you perceive (or hear about) some person demonstrating an impressive act of charity or loyalty or kindness or compassion or forgiveness or sacrifice for others or sincere service to others.  We refer to these as acts of moral beauty.

____9. I notice moral beauty in human beings.

____10. When perceiving an act of moral beauty I feel changes in my body, such as a lump in my throat, an expansion in my chest, faster heart beat, or other bodily responses.

____11. When perceiving an act of moral beauty I feel emotional, it “moves me,” such as feeling a sense of awe, or wonder or excitement or admiration or upliftment.

____12. When perceiving an act of moral beauty I feel something like a spiritual experience, perhaps a sense of oneness, or being united with the universe, or a love of the entire world.

____13. When perceiving an act of moral beauty I find that I desire to become a better person.

____14. When perceiving an act of moral beauty I find that I desire to do good deeds and increase my service to others.

Eros & Psyche
by John James Chalon, RA, OWS 
(Watercolor, ca. 1840-1850; in a private collection)