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A series of seven experiments investigated the determinants of judged pattern complexity, with emphasis on the identification and measurement of structural variables. In an exploratory study, it was found that the determinants of pattern complexity could be separated into quantitative variables (number of turns, amount of contour), which set an upper bound on complexity, and structural variables, which reduced perceived complexity from the upper bound value. Results indicated that a wide variety of structural features, those generated by similarity transformations and related opponent-color transformations, were perceptually effective in reducing perceived complexity. In addition, it seemed that partial or approximate structure was effective in reducing perceived complexity. Later experiments developed and extended these results. Partial or approximate symmetry was shown to have a systematic effect on perceived complexity. The relative effectiveness of 10 different structural relations within patterns was determined. Patterns of varying degrees of organization were shown to determine a family of power functions, and this result rendered the expression of effects of structure equivalent to multiplicative reductions in pattern quantity. In addition, the effects of partial structure were shown to follow approximately a squared-area law. Finally, pair-comparison scaling was shown to yield results comparable to magnitude-estimation scaling, and multiple pattern structures were found to act as alternative, rather than additive, influences upon perceived complexity. Developmental and individual differences in complexity judgment are described. Results are discussed for their implications concerning patterns as stimuli in other experimental and naturalistic situations and are considered in relation to existing theories of pattern perception.

Does mathematics anxiety deflect able students from pursuing scientific careers? We obtained the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of 1,366 students entering Barnard College and also questioned them about their career interests and their feelings about mathematics learning At every level of mathematical skill, math anxiety correlated negatively with interest in scientific careers Contrariwise, quantitative SAT score was unrelated to career interests, within relatively homogeneous categories of math anxiety or confidence Students were also asked directly whether the desire to avoid math affected their career choices The responses suggested a mediating role for math anxiety or confidence in career choice

Individuals at five grade levels (kindergarten, Grade 2, Grade 4, Grade 6, and college) made pair-comparison judgments of visual complexity. The influence of the presence or absence of six types of visual structure (double symmetry, vertical symmetry, horizontal symmetry, diagonal symmetry, checkerboard organization, and rotational organization) and of amount of contour were examined. Two general developmental trends were revealed: First, the age at which visual structure initially affected complexity judgments varied with the type of structure, independent of amount of contour, within the range of contour values used. Second, there was a uniform increase in the effect of structure on complexity judgments between the fourth and sixth grades. These results are discussed in relation to possible mechanisms of visual pattern encoding and complexity judgment.

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