Of time and preference: temporal stability of environmental preferences.

Time is a central issue in discussions about art and in Berlyne's aesthetic theory. This article reports on the temporal stabilities of preferences for a novel and controversial building at three times after construction (2 years, 18 years, 23 years), and public preferences for 20 ordinary and noncontroversial buildings at three times over nine years. In all there were 5543 respondents. Analyses suggested that the initial response to the novel building was stable over the next 23 years, and the public responses for the 20 nonnovel buildings were stable over nine years. Implications for research are discussed.