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. 2025 Oct-Dec;23(4):14747049251388596.
doi: 10.1177/14747049251388596. Epub 2025 Nov 14.

Is Ornamentation a Universal Human Preference? Cross-Cultural and Developmental Evidence From Scotland, Pakistan, and Papua

Piotr Sorokowski  1 , Jerzy Luty  2 , Wiktoria Jdryczka  2 , Michal Mikolaj Stefanczyk  1
Affiliations

Is Ornamentation a Universal Human Preference? Cross-Cultural and Developmental Evidence From Scotland, Pakistan, and Papua

Piotr Sorokowski et al. Evol Psychol. 2025 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Ornamentation is a widespread feature of human material culture, yet its preference varies across societies. We tested the hypothesis that variation in ornamentation preference correlates with socioecological factors, comparing 215 parent-child dyads from three societies differing in WEIRD characteristics: Scotland, Pakistan, and Papua New Guinea. We found that less WEIRD societies exhibit stronger preferences for ornamentation, consistent with adaptive socioecological influences on aesthetic valuation. Moreover, a decline in ornamentation preference with age was observed only in the Western sample, suggesting cultural suppression of ornamentation across development. These findings support the view that children's aesthetic preferences may more closely reflect evolved, foundational biases toward ornamentation, which are subsequently modulated by cultural context. Investigating such developmental trajectories is crucial to understanding the biological basis and evolutionary origins of human aesthetic preferences.

Keywords: age; children; cross-cultural; evolutionary aesthetics; ornamentation preferences.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The Ornamented Versus Plain Stimuli Used in the Study.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The Difference Between Adults and Children Across the Three Subsamples in Ornament Preference for Plates (Top Left), Shirts (Top Right), and Aggregated Score (Bottom).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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