Media aesthetic researchers believe that Informal Visual Environments (IVEs) have changed our aesthetic perceptions and made us perceptually selective by establishing a new schema (set of aesthetic expectations) based on information visualization. This may have caused learners' to have aesthetic expectations from Formal Learning Visual Environments (FLVEs). Likewise, learners' get cognitively fatigued when experience difference between what they aesthetically expect and what they see in a FLVE, this lowers their learning motivation. The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate how learners' aesthetic expectations from FLVEs are influenced by IVEs (Motion-Pictures, Video-Games, and Social Networking Websites) and Informal Motivational Factors (Challenge, Curiosity, Control and Fantasy). Keller's and Malone & Leppers' motivational models are used as research baseline to ascertain aesthetic expectations in formal and informal visual environments and how they jointly determine learners' aesthetic expectations from FLVEs. The study investigates four research questions by computing Two-Way Analysis of Variance, Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression Analysis. Results support the argument discussed in the paper and show a strong influence of both IVEs and Informal Motivational Factors on learners' aesthetic expectations from FLVEs. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.