Aesthetic evaluation of abstract symmetric patterns with broken symmetries A Gartus, H Leder |
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Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
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| There are a number of factors which are known to influence aesthetic evaluation [Leder et al, 2004, British Journal of Psychology, 95, 489-508]. Concerning abstract black-and-white patterns, Jacobsen and Höfel [2002, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 95, 755-766] found symmetry to be the most important and complexity the second-most important factor. However, there are claims that small asymmetries can be beautiful as well [McManus, 2005, European Review, 13(2), 157-180]. Here, we investigated the influence of such minor asymmetries on the liking of abstract patterns. We created a new set of abstract black-and-white patterns, containing broken symmetric patterns, which are slightly different from corresponding fully symmetric ones. Because breaking the symmetry increases the complexity, we additionally included fully symmetric patterns, matched to the broken patterns by visual complexity ratings obtained in a pre-study. The resulting patterns were then rated on a 7-point scale for liking. Patterns with broken symmetries were significantly less liked than full symmetric ones – despite the corresponding increase of complexity. Therefore, we can confirm the result of Jacobsen and Höfel [2002] that symmetry is a stronger and more important factor than complexity, even when the difference in symmetry is very small. |
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