A Study of the Hevner Adjective List
Author(s): Paul R. Farnsworth
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Sep., 1954), pp. 97-103
Published by: Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The American Society for Aesthetics
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A STUDY OF THE HEVNER ADJECTIVE LIST*
PAUL R. FARNSWORTH
It is inconceivable that anyone would contest the statement that research in
experimental aesthetics has been greatly aided by the advent of the Hevner adjective list.' 2 While originally intended for work in music it has been borrowed for
research in other sensory areas.3 Its 67 words, which are arranged in eight
clusters, describe a variety of moods. The moodal quale expressed by the adjectives within any one cluster has been assumed to be almost identical. Hence,
it has become customary to describe musical phrases, objects of art, or other
items of aesthetic interest in terms of the list's eight clusters rather than its
67 adjectives.
Since these adjective clusters have received so much attention it seemed to the
writer important to put them through certain tests, primarily to learn whether
or not the members of any given cluster were describing the roughly similar
moods Hevner had intended. A check was also planned on the idea that the
clusters formed a sort of clock dial or circle with the mood described by the
adjectives of cluster 2 most similar to moods characterized by clusters 1 and 3,
that described by 5 most like those represented by 4 and 6, etc.
The plan of the research was to present to two hundred subjects some 56
musical phrases, each of which kept reasonably well to a single mood. The Hevner
adjectives would be given to the subjects along with each musical phrase. The
directive would be to check as many adjectives as seemed appropriate or to add
others not in the list if additions seemed needed.4The plan called for the counting
of the adjectives checked for each musical phrase and for an assessment of the
phrase in terms of the 67 (actually only 66) adjectives. Thus, the phrase receiving most checks for "sentimental" would obtain the rank of 1 for that
adjective, or, conversely, "sentimental" would receive a 1 for that phrase.
Every adjective, then, would possess a series of ranks from 1 through 56, made
from the checks it received while the 56 musical phrases were being played.
These rank orders could then be correlated to show the tally resemblances, the
degrees to which the adjectives had similar moodal meanings.
During the autumn of 1951 and the winter of 1952 two hundred students were
drawn from Stanford University's courses in elementary psychology to serve
as subjects. Required to take part in five researches, they had chosen this
* This paper was presented in part before the 1953 meetings of the Esthetics Division
of the American Psychological Association. The study was partially financed by Stanford's
Committee on Supplementary Research Grants.
'Hevner, K., Experimental studies of the elements of expression in music, Amer. J.
Psychol., 48 (1936), 246-268.
2 Hevner, K., Expression in music: a discussion of experimental studies and theories,
Psychol. Rev., 47 (1935), 186-204.
R. T., Studies in the psychology of the theatre, Psychol. Rec., 2 (1938), 127-190.
Since the subjects added very few new adjectives, only those of the standard list are
considered in this paper.
3 Ross,
4
97
98
PAUL
R. FARNSWORTH
TABLE 1
Present Hevner "Mood Clock"
6
bright
cheerful
gay
happy
joyous
merry
5
delicate
fanciful
graceful
humorous
light
playful
quaint
sprightly
whimsical
7
agitated
dramatic
exciting
exhilarated
impetuous
passionate
restless
sensational
soaring
triumphant
4
calm*
leisurely
lyrical
quiet
satisfying
serene
soothing
tranquil
8
emphatic
exalting
majestic
martial
ponderous
robust
vigorous
3
dreamy
longing
plaintive
pleading
sentimental
tender
yearning
yielding
1
awe-inspiring
dignified
lofty
sacred
serious
sober
solemn
spiritual
dark
depressing
doleful
frustrated
gloomy
heavy
melancholy
mournful
pathetic
sad
tragic
* This adjective was inadvertently omitted from the lists presented to the subjects.
Thus, this study deals with 66 rather than 67 adjectives.
STUDY
OF HEVNER
ADJECTIVE
LIST
99
experiment from a list of a dozen or more possibilities. They met in small groups
for fifty minutes at a time to hear the 56 musical stimuli. A very few of the
subjects were almost musically illiterate, many others were more typical of the
general population, while still others had had at least some private or college
work in music.
The musical phrases were chosen by the experimenter and several colleagues5
with the view to give all sections of the "mood clock" proper representation. It
was hoped that each of the eight clock positions would be favored seven times
among the moods to be elicited by the 56 phrases. However, important biases
appeared. Thus the data show that certain of the adjectives were quite frequently checked and others rather rarely. The range was from 1484 checks for
"graceful" and 1453 for "dignified" to 259 for "sensational" and only 86 for
"yielding." The phrases, taken from phonograph discs, were recorded on tape
to save time and to avoid confusion.
The musical stimuli were the following:
Anonymous. Music of the Chapel of King Henry VI. (Latin), Credo up to "remission of
sins."
Bach, J. S. Air for the G String from Suite in D Major. (orch. arr.), first 12 meas.
Bach, J. S. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Part 1, (orch. arr.), first 11 meas.
Bax, A. Overture to a Picaresque Comedy. Part 1, first 44 meas.
Beethoven, L. Spring Sonata. Op. 24. Allegro, (violin), first 25 meas.
Beethoven, L. Symphony ha5.4th Movement, Allegro, meas. 363-402.
Berlioz, H. Rdk6czy March, Marche Hongroise from Damnation of Faust. first 69 meas.
Bizet, G. L'Arlesienne. Adagietto from Entr'acte, first 19 measures.
Boccherini, L. Minuet from Quintet in E Major. first 28 meas.
Brahms, J. Alto Rhapsody. meas. 108-127.
Coates, E. From Meadow to Mayfair, As, Evening in Town Waltz. first 28 meas.
Coffey, V. Virginia Reel. first 41 meas.
Debussy, C. Clair de Lune. (orch. arr.), first 26 meas.
Elgar, E. Pomp and Circumstance, #1 in D. Allegro, first 73 meas.
Franck, C. Symphony in D Minor. 1st Movement, Allegro non troppo, first 12 meas.
Grieg, E. Symphonic Dance, Op. 64, 2. Allegretto grazioso, first 36 meas.
Handel, G. Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. first 33 meas.
Haydn, J. 18th Century Dance from Quartet, Op. 3, #h. first 27 meas.
Kreisler, F. Liebesleid. first 48 meas.
Liadow, A. The Enchanted Lake. Part 2, meas. 35-55.
Mendelssohn, F. MidsummerNight's Dream. Nocturne, first 27 meas.
Milhaud, D. Les Songes Ballet. Part 2, Anim6, meas. 5-27.
Moszkowski, M. Serenade. first 18 meas.
Mozart, W. Ave Verum, K-618. first 18 meas.
Mozart, W. Lacrymosa from Requiem Mass. meas. 2-8.
Mozart, W. Mass in C Minor, Kyrie Eleison, K-427. first 26 meas.
Mozart, W. Symphony 26, K-184 in Eb Major. 2nd Movement, Andante, meas. 32-49.
Moussorgsky, M. Coronation Scene from Boris Godunov. meas. 23-38.
Moussorgsky, M. La Khowantchina. Entr'acte, Act 4, Scene 5, first 20 meas.
M. Pictures from an Exhibition, Promenade. (piano), first 21 meas.
Paganini, N. Moto Perpetuo. 1st Part, meas. 8-51.
Moussorgsky,
6 The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance rendered by Edward Colby, La
Verne Irvine, Sidney Siegel, and Leonard Ullmann in the choice of the musical phrases,
and the statistical aid given by David LaBerge.
PAUL
100
R. FARNSWORTH
Pyror, A. (arr. by Bolton). Whistler and his Dog. first 38 meas.
Puccini, G. Madame Butterfly, Love Duet. 16 meas. from Largamente to end of duet,
conclusion of Act 1.
Rossini, G. Wm. Tell Overture,At Dawn. first 21 meas.
Rossini, G. Wm. Tell Overture,The Storm. meas. 48-134.
Saint-Saens, C. Carnival of Animals, The Swan. first 13 meas.
Saint-Saens, C. Danse Macabre. (orchestra), first 85 meas.
Schumann, R. Symphony # 1. 2nd Movement, Larghetto, first 24 meas.
Schumann, R. Symphony # 1. 4th Movement, Allegro-animato, first 51 meas.
Smetana, B. BarteredBride. Act 1, Scene 5, first 61 meas.
Stix, C. Pizzicato Polka, Spielerie. first 36 meas.
Strauss, R. Der Rosenkavalier. Act 3, meas. 321-412.
Strauss, R. Till Eulenspiegel. 1st Part, first 77 meas.
Stravinsky, I. Berceuse from The Firebird Ballet Suite. meas. 27-48.
Tschaikowsky, P. 1812 Overture.Part 3, first 17 meas.
Tschaikowsky, P. Marche Slave, Op. 31. Part 2, Allegro, meas. 187-244.
Tschaikowsky, P. Solitude, Op. 73, %6. (orch. arr.), first 25 meas.
P. Waltz from Spring Serenade, Op. 48. first 86 meas.
Tschaikowsky,
Wagner, J. F. Under the Double Eagle March, Op. 159. first 80 meas.
Intro. to Act 1, 24 meas. before entrance of Brunnhilde.
Wagner, R. G6tterddmmerung.
Wagner, R. LohengrinPrelude. Act 3, first 49 meas.
Wagner, R. TannhduserFest. March. Act 2, Scene 4, meas. 39-71.
Wagner, R. Tristan und Isolde Prelude. Act 1, meas. 45-65.
Weber, C. Der Freischutz
Overture. (Horn duet), meas. 18-24.
Weber, C. Invitation to the Waltz. 72 meas. before Vivace.
White, P. MosquitoDance. all.
With the aid first of clerical assistance and later of IBM equipment, 2,145
rank correlations were run between the rank orders of the 66 adjectives. The
data were then studied to learn 1) the mood consistency within each of the
clusters, and 2) the mood similarities between clusters.
The mood consistencies were found by analyses of the intercorrelations of the
ranks within each of the clusters. That is, for cluster 6 'the author assembled
the 15 intercorrelations the six items would yield, for cluster 8 the 21 intercorrelations the seven items would give, etc. The median of the intercorrelations
was then determined for each cluster. These values, which can be seen in Table 2,
were found to range from the highly satisfactory .949 of cluster 6 to the rather
unsatisfactory .571 of cluster 8. It seems clear from these data that only a few
TABLE 2
Intercorrelations of Original Clusters
CLUSlTERS
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
.678
.622
.873
.276
.527
.713
.093
.285
.632
- .562
- .445
- .225
- .627
- .803
- .684
- .122
- .315
- .463
.096
- .163
- .444
.638
.109
.690
-.267
.714
.949
-.326
-.074
.310
.581
-.439
-.294
.096
.563
.571
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
STUDY
OF HEVNER
ADJECTIVE
LIST
101
of the groupings have sufficient internal consistency properly to be termed
clusters.
The mood similarities among clusters can also be seen in Table 2. Each value
is the median of the correlations between each member of the one cluster in
question and the several members of the other cluster with which it is being
compared. Thus, the correlation between clusters 6 and 8, .096, is the median of
42 correlational values (six members of cluster 6 times seven of cluster 8).
The data of Table 2 show that the clusters do not form a satisfactory circle
or clock face. Cluster 1 has its closest relationship to 2, but has no relation
to its nearest neighbor on the other side, 8; 2 is reasonably placed between 1
and 3, and 3 between 2 and 4. But 4 has little resemblance to 5, nor has 6 much
in common with 7.
There are several procedures which might quite properly be employed in any
attempt to improve upon the Hevner selection of clusters. The one rather
arbitrarily chosen by the writer was one of the simplest. It was to retain, with
slight modifications, Hevner's best cluster, her 6, to locate by inspection a
cluster with which it had a high negative correlation, to find others with which
it had relatively little correlation, etc. The aim was to select all of the available
clusters whose mood consistencies would be shown by rho's of .80 at the minimum. By this procedure nine clusters were obtained, with 16 adjectives left
outside the clusters. The new clusters are shown in Table 3 with the numbers
of the old clusters from which they were derived.
The range of the mood consistencies of these revamped clusters, shown in
TABLE 3
Modified "Mood Clock"
A
bright.......
cheerful......
gay .......
happy.......
j oyous .....
merry.....
playful .....
sprightly .....
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
F
dark....
depressing....
doleful .......
gloomy.......
melancholic...
mournful.....
sad .......
serious.......
sober.........
solemn.......
tragic.......
G
2 sacred.......
2 spiritual ......
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
B
fanciful .
light ........
quaint .......
whimsical ...
C
5 delicate.
5 graceful......
5 lyrical .......
5
H
1 dramatic.
1 emphatic...
majestic ......
triumphant...
D
5 dreamy.......
5 leisurely.. ....
4 sentimental...
serene........
soothing .....
tender.....
tranquil .....
quiet .....
3
4
3
4
4
3
4
4
I
agitated.
exalting.
exciting.
exhilarated...
impetuous....
vigorous..
7
8
7
7
7
8
7
8
8
7
E
longing......
plaintive ...
pleading.....
yearning.....
3
3
3
3
102
PAUL R. FARNSWORTH
TABLE 4
Intercorrelations of New Clusters
CLUSTERS
A
B
H
G
I
A
B
C
D
E
F
.930
.758
.858
.325
.563
-.377
.009
-.704
-.356
-.817
-.524
-.577
-.494
-.127
-.474
.865
.529
.847
-.251
.429
.754
.892
- .161
.313
.569
.680
- .514
-.412
-.173
.022
- .290
-.554
-.694
-.615
.797
.140
.800
-.436
.420
C
D
E
F
.151
.701
.876
G
H
.606
.192
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I
TABLE 5
Adjectives, Not Placed in Clusters
awe-inspiring-H, .670; G, .582; F, .444; E, .269; 1, .005
dignified-G, .607; H, .502; F, .423; E, .294; D, .158
frustrated-F, .414; E, .254; G, .053; H, .041
heavy-F, .791; G, .573; E, .460; H, .442; D, .042
humorous-A,
.719; B, .568; I, .559; C, .081
lofty-GI .494; H, .484; F, .248; E, .246; I, .040
martial-H, .746; I, .475; A, .072
passionate-E, .655; F, .533; G, .477; D, .304; C, .160; H, .137
pathetic-F, .860; E, .833; G, .589; D, .548
ponderous-F, .653; G, .490; H, .448; E, .344; D, .019
restless-I, .618; A, .310; H, .244; B, .111
robust-I, .731; H, .668; A, .268
satisfying-C, .638; D, .458; A, .278; B, .220; E, .094
.774; H, .701; A, .234
sensational-I,
.684; H, .636; A, .197
soaring-I,
yielding-D,
.539; E, .433; C, .363; G, .233; F, .231; B, .040
Table 4, is from .930 for A to .797 and .800 for G and H. With values so high,
the groupings can quite properly be termed clusters. Although these clusters
approximate a better circle or clock face than did the originals, this geometric
plan is kept from complete realization by the low correlation (.140) between
G and H. Of the adjectives not placed in clusters (see Table 5) a few almost
achieved placement. Thus "pathetic" has high rho's both with F and E and
presumably falls in between these two clusters. "Soaring," "sensational," and
"robust," with somewhat lower rho's, fit almost equally well the I and H clusters.
With a slight lowering of standards, "heavy" could be placed in F, "martial" in
H, and "humorous" in A. All the others, with the exception of "frustrated," fit
one or another of the clusters with relatively poorer degrees of precision. This
latter adjective, with a maximum rho of only .414 (with F), does not seem to
fit any cluster.
STUDY OF HEVNER ADJECTIVE LIST
103
CONCLUSIONS
From the above data the following conclusions seem warranted.
1. When put to operational test, several of the Hevner adjective clusters are
found not to describe internally consistent mood patterns.
2. There appears to be little empirical justification for the rationale of arranging the clusters in circle or clock-face form.
3. By the use of 50 of the Hevner adjectives it is possible to obtain somewhat
different clusters which represent internally consistent mood patterns.
4. These newer clusters, while coming closer to clock-face arrangement than
do the original clusters, still fit rather poorly such a geometric pattern.