<P> Surprise functions as a disruption of current action to alert a viewer to a significant event . The emotion is centered around the experience of something new and unexpected, and can be ellicied by sensory incongruity . Art can ellicit surprise when expectations about the work are not met, but the work changes those expectations in an understandable way . </P> <P> Hostile emotions toward art are often very visible in the form of anger or frustration, and can result in censorship, but are less easily described by a continuum of aesthetic pleasure - displeasure . These reactions center around the hostility triad: anger, disgust, and contempt . These emotions often motivate aggression, self - assertion, and violence, and arise from perception of the artist's deliberate trespass onto the expectations of the viewer . </P> <P> Self - conscious emotions are responses that reflect upon the self and one's actions, such as pride, guilt, shame, regret and embarrassment . These are much more complex emotions, and involve assessing events as agreeing with one's self - perception or not, and adjusting one's behavior accordingly . There are numerous instances of artists expressing self - conscious emotions in response to their art, and self - conscious emotions can also be felt collectively . </P> <P> Researchers have investigated the experience of the sublime, viewed as similar to aesthetic appreciation, which causes general psychological arousal . The sublime feeling has been connected to a feeling of happiness in response to art, but may be more related to an experience of fear . Researchers have shown that feelings of fear induced before looking at artwork results in more sublime feelings in response to those works . </P>

Why do works of art evoke emotional responses