Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (Frankfurt, Germany), and Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, McGill University (Montreal, Canada).
Email: ana.clemente@ae.mpg.de
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Research interests
Creativity
Skill acquisition and expertise development
Expert working memory
Motivation, learning and reward
Evaluative judgment
Multisensory integration
Biocultural evolution
Active inference
Curriculum vitae
Academic (tertiary) education
2017–21 Ph.D. in human evolution and cognition, University of the Balearic Islands, Spain
2016–17 M.Sc. in human evolution and cognition, University of the Balearic Islands and Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, Associated Unit to the Superior Centre for Scientific Research, Spain
2007–10 M.Phil. in art history, University of La Laguna, Spain
2005–07 M.Mus. in solo performance (Aufbaustudium Konzertexamen), Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, Germany
Academic experience
Since 11/2023 Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Germany, and Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, McGill University, Canada
2022–23 Margarita Salas postdoctoral fellow, Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, and Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, Spain
2020 Visiting researcher, Division of Media Technology and Interaction Design, and Division of Speech, Music, and Hearing, Royal Institute of Technology KTH Stockholm, Sweden
Since 2020 Visiting researcher, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, UK
2017–21 La Caixa INPhINIT doctoral fellow, Human Evolution and Cognition Research Group, University of the Balearic Islands, Spain
2013–17 Associate professor, Superior Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands, Spain
2011–12 Adjunct secretary, Superior Conservatory of Music of the Canary Islands, Spain
2010–12 Head of Erasmus program and Bureau of International Relations, Superior Conservatory of Music of the Canary Islands, Spain
2010–11 Head of the Department of winds and percussion, Superior Conservatory of Music of the Canary Islands, Spain
2007–13 Associate professor, Superior Conservatory of Music of the Canary Islands, Spain
Awards
2022 Frank X. Barron Award, superior contribution to the psychology of aesthetics, creativity and the arts by a student, American Psychological Association (APA), Division 10: Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Short bio
Ana Clemente is a cognitive scientist and professional musician, combining her artistic and scientific facets in a mutually enriching way. She has an M.Mus. in solo performance (awarded a Humboldt-Wardwell Stipendium from the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung) at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, an M.Phil. in art history at the University of La Laguna, an M.Sci. (with a graduate scholarship from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) and a Ph.D. (awarded a La Caixa INPhINIT fellowship) in human evolution and cognition at the University of the Balearic Islands. Ana is the recipient of the Frank X. Barron Award 2022 from the American Psychological Association (APA), Division 10: Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts for her doctoral thesis on aesthetic sensitivity (excellent cum laude).
Accomplished soloist and conductor, Ana has worked with leading figures such as Claudio Abbado, Martha Argerich, and Berliner Philharmonic Wind Quintet, recording for BBC Proms, EMI, Generalli, and RTVE, and has won musical prizes (e.g., Young Performers, Youth in Concert) and scholarships from prestigious institutions (e.g., Fundación Ibermúsica; Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Asociación de Artistas, Intérpretes o Ejecutantes de España). In addition, she was an associate professor at music conservatories for more than a decade, teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels and holding the positions of head of department, adjunct secretary, head of the Erasmus program, and board member of the Bureau of International Relations.
Since February 2020, Ana has been a visiting researcher at the Queen Mary University of London (supported by Kungliga Musikaliska Akademin and Tobias Norlind Samfundet). During the Autumn 2020, she was a visiting researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology KTH Stockholm (Short Term Scientific Mission endowed by NordicSMC). From January 2022 to November 2023, Ana was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Learning from Reward Group in the Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, and the Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute. Since November 2023, Ana has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, and Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, McGill University.
Ana has published papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Behavior Research Methods, Brain and Cognition, British Journal of Psychology, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Emotion) and presented her research at top international conferences (e.g., ICMPC-ESCOM, Neuromusic, ICON, RPPW, CMMR, VSAC, VSS, IAEA). Since 2018, she has been a regular reviewer for scientific journals (e.g., Behavior Research Methods, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Nature Scientific Reports) and international conferences (e.g., ISMIR). In 2022, Ana was a consulting editor for Musicae Scientiae and a member of the Iberian Conference on Perception scientific committee. She is part of the organizing committee of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA) 2024 Congress.
She has been invited to give lectures and seminars at institutions like the Queen Mary University of London, Royal Institute of Technology KTH Stockholm, Royal Academy of Music KMH Stockholm, University of St Andrews, the University of Cambridge, and the Max Plank Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. In 2023, Ana has been a keynote speaker at the II International Congress on Beauty and Change.
Publications
(FA: first author; CA: corresponding author)
Articles in peer-reviewed journals
2024
Clemente, A. (FA, CA), Board, F., Pearce, M. T., & Orgs, G. (in press). Complexity in audiovisual aesthetics: Liking for auditory, visual and audiovisual dynamic stimuli. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.
Clemente, A. (FA, CA), Kaplan, T. M., & Pearce, M. T. (in press). Perceptual representations mediate effects of stimulus properties on liking for music. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
2023
Clemente, A. (FA, CA), Penacchio, O., Vila-Vidal, M., Pepperell, R., & Ruta, N. (2023). Explaining the curvature effect: Perceptual and hedonic evaluations of visual contour. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000561
2022
Clemente, A. (FA, CA), Friberg, A., & Holzapfel, A. (2022). Relations between perceived affect and liking for melodies and visual designs. Emotion. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001141
Clemente, A. (FA, CA), Pearce, M. T., & Nadal, M. (2022). Musical aesthetic sensitivity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 16(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000381
2021
Clemente, A. (FA), Pearce, M. T., Skov, M., & Nadal, M. (2021). Evaluative judgment across domains: Liking balance, contour, symmetry, and complexity in melodies and visual designs. Brain and Cognition, 151, 105729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105729
2020
Clemente, A. (FA, CA), Vila-Vidal, M., Pearce, M. T., Aguiló, G., Corradi, G., & Nadal, M. (2020). A set of 200 musical stimuli varying in balance, contour, symmetry, and complexity: Behavioral and computational assessments. Behavior Research Methods, 52(4), 1491–1509. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-019-01329-8
Corradi, G., Chuquichambi, E. G., Barrada, J. R., Clemente, A., & Nadal, M. (2020). A new conception of visual aesthetic sensitivity. British Journal of Psychology, 111(4), 630–658. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12427
Nadal, M., Corradi, G., Barrada, J. R., Clemente, A., & Chuquichambi, E. G. (2020). Reply to Myszkowski et al. (2020): Some matters of fact concerning aesthetic sensitivity. British Journal of Psychology, 111(4), 663–664. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12443
Book chapters
Clemente, A. (FA, CA) (2022). Aesthetic sensitivity: Origin and development. In Skov, M. and Nadal, M., eds., The Routledge International Handbook of Neuroaesthetics (pp. 240–253). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003008675-13 ISBN: 9780367442743
Open sources and resources
Billboard Melodic Music Dataset (BiMMuDa): https://github.com/madelinehamilton/BiMMuDa
Complexity in AudioVisual Aesthetics (CAVA) stimulus set (FA, CA): https://osf.io/e5uh9/
Liking for visual symmetry (LiS) stimulus set and source code (FA, CA): https://osf.io/tu4dk/
Music Chords (MIC) stimulus set (FA, CA): https://osf.io/zvbxu/
MUsical STimulus (MUST) set and toolbox (FA, CA): https://osf.io/bfxz7/
Naturalistic MUsical STimulus (NatMUST) set (FA, CA): https://osf.io/k6gme/
Visual Contour (ViCo) stimulus set and widget (FA, CA): https://osf.io/kv38d/
Theses
Clemente, A. (2021). Aesthetic Sensitivity. Doctoral dissertation in human evolution and cognition, University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). https://www.tdx.cat/handle/10803/673506?locale-attribute=en
Clemente, A. (2017). To Touch or not to Touch: Multimodal Experience in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Sculptures in an Art Gallery. Master’s dissertation in human evolution and cognition, University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). https://dspace.uib.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11201/146222/tfm_2016-17_MCEV_asc735_1340.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Peer-reviewed conferences
2023
Ruta, N., Clemente, A. (2023/08/25). Explaining the curvature effect. The Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC) 2023. Nicosia, Cyprus
2022
Clemente, A. (2022/09/02). Philosophical obstacles in empirical aesthetics (symposium chair; speakers: Aenne Brielmann, Joerg Fingerhut, Gregor Hayn-Leischenring, & Bill Seeley). XXVII Conference of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA), Philadelphia, USA
Clemente, A. (2022/09/02). Individual perceptual mediation of the influence of stimulus properties on liking for music. XXVII Conference of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA), Philadelphia, USA
Clemente, A., Fàbrega-Camps, G., Ara, A., Vicente, U., & Marco-Pallarés, J. (2022/09/01). Functional connectivity in liking for musical and visual contour. XXVII Conference of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA), Philadelphia, USA
Clemente, A. (2022/08). Individual perceptual mediation of the influence of stimulus properties on liking for music. Society for Music Perception and Cognition (SMPC), Portland, USA
Clemente, A. (2022/06/28). Pleasure in perception (symposium chair; speakers: Beatriz Calvo-Merino, Emily Cross, David Huron, Josep Marco-Pallarés, & Martin Skov), IX Iberian Conference on Perception (ICP)
Clemente, A. (2022/06/01). Unpacking the curvature effect: Perceptual and hedonic judgments of visual contour. Vision Sciences Society (VSS), Florida, USA, Journal of Vision, 22(3701). https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.22.14.3701
Clemente, A. (2022/05). Evaluative judgment across domains. International Conference of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON), Helsinki, Finland
2021
Clemente, A. (2021/09/03). Evaluative judgment across domains. XXVI Conference of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA), City University of London, UK
Clemente, A., Penacchio, O., Vila-Vidal, M., Pepperell, R., & Ruta, N. (2021/09/02). Contrasting perceptual and hedonic judgments of visual contour. XXVI Conference of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA), City University of London, UK
Clemente, A., Penacchio, O., Vila-Vidal, M., Pepperell, R., & Ruta, N. (2021/08/26). Contrasting perceptual and hedonic judgments of visual contour. 43rd European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP)
Clemente, A., Friberg, A., & Holzapfel, A. (2021/07/31). Perceived affect in sensory valuation across domains. ICMPC16-ESCOM11 conference on Connectivity and diversity in music cognition, Department of Music, The University of Sheffield, UK
Clemente, A., Board, F., Pearce, M. T., & Orgs, G. (2021/07/30). Hedonic judgment of audiovisual displays: Liking for complexity in dynamic sound and image sequences. ICMPC16-ESCOM11 conference on Connectivity and diversity in music cognition, Department of Music, University of Sheffield, UK
Clemente, A., Board, F., Pearce, M. T., & Orgs, G. (2021/06/23). Hedonic judgment of audiovisual displays: Liking for complexity in dynamic sound and image sequences. 18th Rhythm Production and Perception Workshop (RPPW) 2021, RITMO, University of Oslo, Norway
Clemente, A. (2021/06/20). Evaluative judgment across domains. Neurosciences and Music – VII (Neuromusic Aarhus) Conference, Aarhus, Denmark
Clemente, A., Board, F., Pearce, M. T., & Orgs, G. (2021/06/15). Hedonic judgment of audiovisual displays: Liking for complexity in dynamic sound and image sequences. Swedish Society of Musicology (SSM) Music Research Today 2021 Conference, University College of Music Education in Stockholm (SMI), Malmö Academy of Music (Lund University) and Piteå Academy of Music (Luleå University of Technology), Sweden
Clemente, A., Penacchio, O., Vila-Vidal, M., Pepperell, R., & Ruta, N. (2021/04/23). Contrasting perceptual and hedonic judgments of visual contour. Visual Properties Driving Visual Preference (VPDVP) 2021 Workshop, University of Liverpool, UK
2020
Clemente, A. (2020/06/10). Modality-specific or amodal cues informing sensory valuation? SSM Music Research Today 2020 Conference, Lund University: Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Malmö Academy of Music, Inter Arts Center, Odeum, Sweden
2019
Clemente, A. (2019/11/20). The MUST set and toolbox. Nordic Sound and Music Computing Network (NordicSMC) 2019 Conference, Stockholm, Sweden
Clemente, A. (2019/10/16). The MUST set and toolbox. 14th International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research (CMMR) 2019, Marseille, France, published by Springer Verlag in the Lecture Notes in Computer Sciences Series
Clemente, A. (2019/09/12). Musical and visual aesthetic sensitivity. The Aesthetic Experience Today (AET) 2019 Conference, Prague, Czech Republic
Clemente, A. (2019/08/22). Musical and visual aesthetic sensitivity. The Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC) 2019, Leuven, Belgium
Clemente, A. (2019/08/08). A set of 200 musical stimuli varying in balance, contour, symmetry, and complexity: Behavioral and computational assessments. Cognitively Based Music Informatics Research (CogMIR) 2019 Conference, New York, USA
Clemente, A. (2019/06/20). Musical and visual aesthetic sensitivity. 8th Iberian Conference on Perception (ICP) 2019, Madrid, Spain, published in the Spanish Journal of Psychology
Clemente, A. (2019/06/13). Musical and visual aesthetic sensitivity. SSM Music Research Today 2019 Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, published in Swedish Journal of Music Research
2018
Nadal, M., Rey, C., Chuquichambi, E., Corradi, G., & Clemente, A. (2018/09/02). Musical and visual aesthetic sensitivity. International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA) Congress Conflict, Arousal, and Curiosity: Berlyne and Beyond, Toronto, Canada
Clemente, A. (2018/09/02). Musical aesthetic sensitivity. International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA) Congress Conflict, Arousal, and Curiosity: Berlyne and Beyond, Toronto, Canada
Invited speaker
2024
Clemente, A. (2024/01/26). Aesthetic sensitivity. Computational Audition Research Group, Max Plank Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
2023
Clemente, A. (2023/11/2–4). Aesthetic sensitivity. Aesthetic Experience: Philosophical, Psychological and Neuroscientific Perspectives, II International Congress on Beauty and Change (Keynote speaker)
Clemente, A. (2023/04/03). Hedonic evaluation of multisensory objects. Open Lab Seminar series, Cultural Data Analytics (CUDAN), Tallinn, Estonia
2022
Clemente, A. (2022/11/21). Interdisciplinary cross-fertilization: From cognitive psychology to AI and back. Datasounds, Datasets and Datasense Workshop, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
Clemente, A. & Brielmann, A. (2022/05/04). This is predictable! Predicting aesthetic experience. Art in Conversation, St Andrews University, UK
2021
Clemente, A. (2021/12/07). Aesthetic sensitivity. LOGOS Research Group in Analytic Philosophy, University of Barcelona, Spain
Clemente, A. (2021/11/16). Aesthetic sensitivity. Centre for Music and Science (CMS) Seminar series, University of Cambridge, UK
Clemente, A. (2021/10/15). Aesthetic sensitivity. TMH Seminar, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
Clemente, A. & Ruta, N. (2021/03/02). Contrasting perceptual and hedonic judgments of visual contour. Vision Club, University of St. Andrews, UK
2020
Clemente, A. (2020/11/17). Aesthetic sensitivity and perceived affect. Sound and Music Interaction Seminar, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
Clemente, A. (2020/10/29). Free exploration and free play in music. Higher Seminar, Royal College of Music KMH Stockholm, Sweden
Clemente, A. (2020/03/13). Aesthetic sensitivity. Computational Robotics and Intelligent Systems for the People Lecture (CRISP), QMUL, UK
Clemente, A. (2020/03/3–6). Aesthetic sensitivity. Perception, Cognition, Aesthetics (PCA) Group – Centre for Digital Music (C4DM) – Music Cognition Lab (MCL), QMUL, UK
Popular science
Clemente, A. (2022). Why do we like what we like? The neuroscience behind the objects that please us. The Conversation (ISSN 2201-5639). https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-like-what-we-like-the-neuroscience-behind-the-objects-that-please-us-196330
Clemente, A. (2022). Por qué nos gusta lo que nos gusta. RTVE. https://www.rtve.es/play/audios/inquietamente/inquietamente-valor-hedonico-diferentes-gustos/6631416/
Clemente, A. (2022). Por qué nos gusta lo que nos gusta? The Conversation (ISSN 2201-5639). https://theconversation.com/por-que-nos-gusta-lo-que-nos-gusta-181524
Other academic activity
Peer-reviewing and RD activity
International conferences
2024 International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA) 2024 Congress (scientific and organizing committees)
2024 11th International Conference on New Music Concepts (ICNMC) (scientific committee)
2023 Cultural Data Analytics Conference 2023 / CUDAN 2023 (scientific committee)
2022 IX Iberian Conference on Perception (CIP) (scientific committee)
2021 22nd Conference of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval (ISMIR) (reviewer)
2020 21st Conference of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval (ISMIR) (reviewer)
International scientific journals
2023– Brain and Cognition
2023– Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
2023– Frontiers in Psychology
2023– Psychology Research and Behavior Management
2022– PLOS ONE
2022– Nature Scientific Reports
2022– Psychology of Music
2022– Musicae Scientiae (consulting editor)
2021– Behavior Research Methods
2018– Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
2018– Empirical Studies of the Arts
Scientific membership
2022– American Psychological Association (APA)
2021– Visual Sciences Society (VSS)
2021– Society for Music Perception and Cognition (SMPC)
2021– European Society of Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM)
2020– Cultural Evolution Society (CES)
2020– Cognitive Science Society (CogSci)
2020– Music and Corona International Network
2019– APA Division 1: General Psychology
2019– APA Division 3: Experimental Psychology
2019– APA Division 10: Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts
2019– Svenska Samfundet för Musikforskning – Swedish Society of Musicology (SSM)
2018– International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA)