Repeated Exposure Decreases Aesthetic Chills Likelihood but Increases Intensity

This study investigates the impact of repeated exposure to aesthetic stimuli on the frequency and intensity of aesthetic chills. Through a longitudinal approach, we quantified changes in chill likelihood, intensity, and pleasure across multiple exposures, focusing on audio stimuli. Participants (n = 58) were randomly exposed to 6 chill-evoking stimuli pre-validated on the population of interest, in  a counterbalanced order. The study identified distinct demographic and psychophysiological response patterns across different participant groups, indicating variability in chill responses. Our findings revealed a significant decrease in the likelihood of experiencing chills with repeated exposure, suggesting habituation to chills itself or potential fatigue in response to aesthetic stimuli. These results provide insights into the dynamic nature of aesthetic experiences and their underlying neural mechanisms, with implications for understanding emotional and reward processing in psychophysiology.