Simonton D K
Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis 95616.
Psychol Aging. 1989 Mar;4(1):42-7. doi: 10.1037//0882-7974.4.1.42.
Creative individuals approaching their final years of life may undergo a transformation in outlook that is reflected in their last works. This hypothesized effect was quantitatively assessed for an extensive sample of 1,919 works by 172 classical composers. The works were independently gauged on seven aesthetic attributes (melodic originality, melodic variation, repertoire popularity, aesthetic significance, listener accessibility, performance duration, and thematic size), and potential last-works effects were operationally defined two separate ways (linearly and exponentially). Statistical controls were introduced for both longitudinal changes (linear, quadratic, and cubic age functions) and individual differences (eminence and lifetime productivity). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that composers' swan songs tend to score lower in melodic originality and performance duration but higher in repertoire popularity and aesthetic significance. These last-works effects survive control for total compositional output, eminence, and most significantly, the composer's age when the last works were created.
临近生命末年的有创造力的个体可能会经历一种观念转变，这在他们最后的作品中有所体现。针对172位古典作曲家的1919部作品的大量样本，对这种假设效应进行了定量评估。这些作品在七个美学属性（旋律原创性、旋律变化、曲目流行度、美学意义、听众可及性、演奏时长和主题规模）上进行了独立评估，潜在的最后作品效应通过两种不同方式进行操作性定义（线性和指数性）。针对纵向变化（线性、二次和三次年龄函数）和个体差异（卓越程度和一生的创作产量）引入了统计控制。分层回归分析表明，作曲家的绝唱在旋律原创性和演奏时长方面得分往往较低，但在曲目流行度和美学意义方面得分较高。这些最后的作品效应在控制了总作曲产量、卓越程度，以及最显著的，创作最后作品时作曲家的年龄之后依然存在。
