Aesthetic responses to repetition in unfamiliar music

Listeners who lacked special expertise in contemporary art music were presented with 1-minute excerpts of music by Luciano Berio and Elliott Carter in either their original, unaltered versions or in modified versions such that segments within the excerpt repeated immediately or after a delay. They were asked to rate each excerpt's enjoyability, interest, and artistry on 7-point Likert-like scales. Listeners rated the excerpts in both repetition conditions as more enjoyable, interesting, and artistic than the original, unaltered versions, suggesting that repetitiveness is an important factor in aesthetic responses to unfamiliar styles.