# Neuroaesthetics: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 11, Test 2, Reading Passage 3

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 11, Test 2, Reading Passage 3. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 27 | C | We certainly do have an inclination to follow the crowd. ... people often choose a definitively wrong answer if they see others doing the same |
| 28 | D | It seems that the viewer can sense the artist's vision in paintings |
| 29 | B | the harder it is to decipher the meaning, the more rewarding is the moment of recognition |
| 30 | A | Mondrian's works are deceptively simple, but eye-tracking studies confirm that they are meticulously composed |
| 31 | C | Since the amygdala plays a crucial role in our feelings |
| 32 | B | analysed the visual intricacy of different pieces of art ... many artists use a key level of detail to please the brain |
| 33 | H | show signs of 'fractals' - repeated motifs recurring in different scales |
| 34 | NOT GIVEN | What's more, appealing pieces both abstract and representational, show signs of 'fractals' |
| 35 | YES | The hypothesis will need to be thoroughly tested, however. |
| 36 | NO | While the fashions of the time might shape what is currently popular |
| 37 | NO | It would, however, be foolish to reduce art appreciation to a set of scientific laws. |
| 38 | YES | We shouldn't underestimate the importance of the style of a particular artist, their place in history and the artistic environment of their time. |
| 39 | NOT GIVEN | In some ways, it's not so different to science |
| 40 | A | is seeking to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art ... Could the same approach also shed light on abstract twentieth-century pieces |

## Why these answers are right

**27. C.** In paragraph B the writer says we have an inclination to follow the crowd and illustrates it with the shape-matching task, where people pick a clearly wrong answer if they see others doing so. The test shows our tendency to be influenced by others, option C.

**28. D.** Hawley-Dolan's volunteers mostly preferred works by renowned artists even when labels said a chimp or child made them. The paragraph concludes that viewers can sense the artist's vision even if they cannot explain why, which matches perceiving the intention behind works of art, option D.

**29. B.** Paragraph D says the longer volunteers took to answer, the more highly they rated Pepperell's pieces, because the brain treats them as puzzles. The harder the meaning is to decipher, the more rewarding the moment of recognition, so people find it satisfying to work out what a painting represents.

The why and the trap for questions 30 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/neuroaesthetics/answers).

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