investigating-uncatchable-smile-leonardo-da-vinci-s-la-bella

Investigating the 'Uncatchable Smile' in Leonardo da Vinci's La Bella Principessa: A Comparison with the Mona Lisa and Pollaiuolo's Portrait of a Girl

This paper discusses how the &#39;Uncatchable Smile&#39; illusion in Leonardo da Vinci&#39;s La Bella Principessa portrait was discovered. Kemp and Cotte1 ...

Sheffield Hallam University

The social climate of correctional (forensic) settings is likely to have a significant impact on the outcome of treatment and the overall functioning of these units. The Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES) provides an objective way of measuring social climate that overcomes the content, length, and psychometric limitations of other measures. But the English translation of the EssenCES has yet to be sufficiently validated for use in forensic settings in the United Kingdom. The current study presents psychometric properties (factor structure and internal consistency) and an examination of construct validity with the English EssenCES. Satisfactory internal consistency was found for all EssenCES scales, and the expected three-factor structure was confirmed with both staff and residents and in prison and secure hospital settings using confirmatory factor analysis. Evidence to support construct validity was established using multilevel models, which showed statistically significant associations between scores on the EssenCES and scores on the Working Environment Scale, institutional aggression, and site security. Future validation work and potential practical applications of the EssenCES are discussed.

Lost in translation? Psychometric properties and construct validity of the English Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES) social climate questionnaire.

This article investigates whether particular scales of the personality assessment inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991 ) are associated with institutional misconduct and risk of reconviction among 268 offenders in a therapeutic community prison. A moderate positive correlation was found between the Antisocial Behavior subscale of the PAI and general institutional misconduct. Moderate positive correlations were also found between the antisocial features, aggression, and drug problems scales and risk of reconviction as measured by the offender group reconviction scale (Francis, Soothill, & Humphries, 2007; Taylor, 1999 ). In addition, receiver operating characteristic analyses showed that certain PAI cut scores had utility in identifying prisoners who had engaged in institutional misconduct and who posed a high risk of reconviction.

Personality assessment inventory (PAI) profiles of offenders and their relationship to institutional misconduct and risk of reconviction.

Research into the relationship between alcohol and aggression has previously focused on men. However, in recent years there has been an increase in binge drinking and violent crime among women, behaviours which have been labelled 'ladette' culture in the UK. The current study advances the literature in this area by investigating the relationship between alcohol consumption and aggressive behaviour of females in licensed premises, including the type of aggression and motivations for aggressive incidents. Ninety-three female university students completed the Student Alcohol Questionnaire (SAQ; Engs, 2002), the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992) and a questionnaire developed to measure self-reported aggressive incidents. Females who had been involved in an aggressive incident reported spending more time on average in licensed premises per week and higher levels of aggression as well as consuming significantly more alcohol on the day of the incident than females who had not been involved in an aggressive incident. Contrary to expectations, however, those who had been involved in an aggressive incident did not report drinking more beer (a male-orientated drink) than those who had not. Verbally aggressive incidents were reported more than physically aggressive incidents, and aggression was commonly motivated by an emotional reaction or to address a grievance. The finding that average alcohol consumption per week was significantly associated with female aggression in licensed premises highlights the importance of developing interventions to reduce alcohol consumption among young females.

Female alcohol consumption, motivations for aggression and aggressive incidents in licensed premises.

A portrait of uncertain origin recently came to light which, after extensive research and examination, was shown to be that rarest of things: a newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci painting entitled La Bella Principessa. This research presents a new illusion which is similar to that identified in the Mona Lisa; La Bella Principessa's mouth appears to change slant depending on both the Viewing Distance and the Level of Blur applied to a digital version of the portrait. Through a series of psychophysics experiments, it was found that a perceived change in the slant of the La Bella Principessa's mouth influences her expression of contentment thus generating an illusion that we have coined the "uncatchable smile". The elusive quality of the Mona Lisa's smile has been previously reported (Science, 290 (2000) 1299) and so the existence of a similar illusion in a portrait painted prior to the Mona Lisa becomes more interesting. The question remains whether Leonardo da Vinci intended this illusion. In any case, it can be argued that the ambiguity created adds to the portrait's allure.

Article	Year
Lost in translation? Psychometric properties and construct validity of the English Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES) social climate questionnaire. Psychological assessment\| PubMed ID: 22082034	2012
Personality assessment inventory (PAI) profiles of offenders and their relationship to institutional misconduct and risk of reconviction. Journal of personality assessment\| PubMed ID: 22448976	2012
Female alcohol consumption, motivations for aggression and aggressive incidents in licensed premises. Addictive behaviors\| PubMed ID: 23261497	2013
The uncatchable smile in Leonardo da Vinci's La Bella Principessa portrait. Vision research\| PubMed ID: 26049039	2015

Michelle Newberry

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