Shape familiarity modulates preference for curvature in drawings of common-use objects

Abstract

Drawing is a way to represent common-use objects. The contour of an object is a salient feature that defines its identity. Preference for a contour (curved or angular) may depend on how familiar the resulting shape looks for that given object. In this research, we examined the influence of shape familiarity on preference for curved or sharp-angled drawings of common-use objects. We also examined the possibility that some individual differences modulated this preference. Preference for curvature was assessed with a liking rating task (Experiment 1) and with a two-alternative forced-choice task simulating approach/avoidance responses (Experiment 2). Shape familiarity was assessed with a familiarity selection task where participants selected the most familiar shape between the curved and the angular version for each object, or whether both shapes were equally familiar for the object. We found a consistent preference for curvature in both experiments. This preference increased when the objects with a curved shape were selected as the most familiar ones. We also found preference for curvature when participants selected the shape of objects as equally familiar. However, there was no preference for curvature or preference for angularity when participants selected the sharp-angled shapes as the most familiar ones. In Experiment 2, holistic and affective types of intuition predicted higher preference for curvature. Conversely, participants with higher scores in the unconventionality facet showed less preference for the curved drawings. We conclude that shape familiarity and individual characteristics modulate preference for curvature.

The Living Space: Psychological Well-Being and Mental Health in Response to Interiors Presented in Virtual Reality

“…Even though recent research is targeting inter-individual differences in shape preferences in spaces and objects’ contexts, the role of individual measures on preference is as yet uncertain, requiring further investigations [ 33 , 84 ]. However, when looking closely at previous studies, an interesting sex effect appears.…”

“…The same set of images showed a preference for curved interiors when the sample size consisted of more females than males [ 8 , 49 ]. The authors interpreted the preference for rectilinear spaces in their study as the result of familiarity, which was previously found to be relevant for preference formation [ 34 , 38 ], although other studies investigating drawings of familiar objects have found it to modulate preference for curvature [ 33 ]. The sex effect was also found when presenting sketches of familiar objects, where females judged curvilinear objects as more peaceful than males [ 37 ].…”

“…Subsequent studies have investigated the hypothesis that curved/rounded/curvilinear conditions are more appealing to humans than angular/edgy/rectilinear ones. This hypothesis has been shown to be correct using different types of visual stimuli including lines [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], font types [ 19 , 20 ], geometric shapes and simple forms [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], irregular shapes and meaningless patterns [ 3 , 4 , 16 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], images of familiar objects [ 3 , 26 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], sketches of familiar objects [ 33 , 37 ], in addition to sketches and images of designed products [ 38 , 39 ]. Different studies have found the effect to be present across species humans and apes [ 35 ], cultures—Western vs. non-Western [ 14 , 16 , 19 , 24 , 29 , 35 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], and ages—toddlers [ 27 ] and infants [ 18 , 23 ].…”

“…Moreover, other studies have investigated additional variables beyond simple curves and angles. Those included both properties of the stimuli—e.g., complexity [ 22 , 24 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 38 ], symmetry [ 24 , 36 ], balance [ 22 , 24 ], novelty/innovativeness [ 38 ], meaningfulness [ 26 , 29 ], typicality [ 38 , 39 ], familiarity [ 4 , 33 ], as well as individual differences of the perceivers—e.g., sex [ 3 , 27 , 30 ], expertise in art/design [ 3 , 4 , 24 , 33 , 38 ], academic degree [ 33 ], personality traits [ 3 , 22 , 33 ], cognitive styles [ 26 ], and neurological disorders such as autism [ 4 , 21 , 30 ], in an attempt to understand whether they affect or modulate contour perception. Different outcome measures have been used in previous studies, including forced-choice response [ 29 , 31 , 32 ], rating/visual analogue scales [ 4 , 16 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 37 , 39 ], and selection procedures [ 26 ], in addition to more implicit ...…”

Humans Prefer to See and Imagine Drawing Curved Objects

“…This final task asked participants to choose which of each pair of drawings they would prefer to draw and to indicate the strength of this preference on a scale (Park, Shimojo, & Shimojo, 2010;Williams et al, 2018). In Experiments 1 and 2, we expected that participants would prefer the curved drawings as shown by previous studies Chuquichambi et al, 2021). In Experiment 3, we expected that participants would prefer to draw the curved stimuli because of the relationship between aesthetic and drawing preference reported by Williams et al (2018).…”