Parsons’ theory of the five stages of development is introduced as follows(Parsons, 1987).
Stage one, “favoritism,” is characterized by the intuitive delight of seeing paintings, a strong attraction to colors, and a freewheeling associative response to subject matter.
In stage two, “beauty and realism,” the consideration of the subject becomes dominant and paintings with attractive subjects in a realistic style are judged as better.
In stage three, “expressiveness,” the viewer has the skills to pay attention to the inner experiences of others and understand what they think and feel. While the viewer can also recognize the creativity, originality, and depth of feeling involved in an artwork, the standard of judgment depends on the quality of the viewer’s personal experiences.
In stage four, “style and form,” the viewer can generally observe artworks in the context of tradition and find their significance in terms of medium, form, style, and historical relations. In addition, the viewer can utilize art criticism to understand artworks and can tend to see acts of aesthetic judgment as rational and objective.
In stage five, “autonomy,” the viewer shows very subtle responses to artworks. Their judgments become more personal and social: the viewer tries to judge the concepts and values of the meanings of artworks based on tradition.