Abstract
The intent of this study is to determine what sorts of images are considered more interesting by which demographic
groups. Specifically, we attempt to identify images whose interestingness ratings are influenced by the demographic
attribute of the viewer’s gender. To that end, we use the data from an experiment where 18 participants (9 women and 9
men) rated several hundred images based on “visual interest” or preferences in viewing images. The images were
selected to represent the consumer “photo-space” - typical categories of subject matter found in consumer photo
collections. They were annotated using perceptual and semantic descriptors.
In analyzing the image interestingness ratings, we apply a multivariate procedure known as forced classification, a
feature of dual scaling, a discrete analogue of principal components analysis (similar to correspondence analysis). This
particular analysis of ratings (i.e., ordered-choice or Likert) data enables the investigator to emphasize the effect of a
specific item or collection of items. We focus on the influence of the demographic item of gender on the analysis, so
that the solutions are essentially confined to subspaces spanned by the emphasized item. Using this technique, we can
know definitively which images’ ratings have been influenced by the demographic item of choice. Subsequently,
images can be evaluated and linked, on one hand, to their perceptual and semantic descriptors, and, on the other hand, to
the preferences associated with viewers’ demographic attributes.
