Symmetry preference in shapes, faces, flowers and landscapes

Abstract

Most people like symmetry, and symmetry has been extensively used in visual art and architecture. In this study, we compared preference for images of abstract and familiar objects in the original format or when containing perfect bilateral symmetry. We created pairs of images for different categories: male faces, female faces, polygons, smoothed version of the polygons, flowers, and landscapes. This design allows us to compare symmetry preference in different domains. Each observer saw all categories randomly interleaved but saw only one of the two images in a pair. After recording preference, we recorded a rating of how salient the symmetry was for each image, and measured how quickly observers could decide which of the two images in a pair was symmetrical. Results reveal a general preference for symmetry in the case of shapes and faces. For landscapes, natural (no perfect symmetry) images were preferred. Correlations with judgments of saliency were present but generally low, and for landscapes the salience of symmetry was negatively related to preference. However, even within the category where symmetry was not liked (landscapes), the separate analysis of original and modified stimuli showed an interesting pattern: Salience of symmetry was correlated positively (artificial) or negatively (original) with preference, suggesting different effects of symmetry within the same class of stimuli based on context and categorization.

The extrastriate symmetry response can be elicited by flowers and landscapes as well as abstract shapes

“…We selected the following species: Epipactis palustris; Euphrasia rostkoviana; Impatiens noli-tangere; Lathyrus tuberosus; Limodorum abortivum; Melittis melissophyllum; Mimulus moschatus; Ophrys apifera; Pisum sativum; Tropaeolum majus; Veronica beccabunga; Viola biflora and Viola reichenbachiana. The landscapes were the same as those used in Bertamini et al (2019) . They were obtained using the keyword “landscape” for a Google image search with a setting of “free to use, share or modify”.…”

“…The images were presented on a black background, so there was no rectangular frame for shapes and flowers, as there was for landscapes. These parameters were chosen for consistency with previous work using the same images (Bertamini et al, 2019).…”

“…First, the same flowers and landscapes had been used in recent work on preference (Bertamini, Rampone, Makin, & Jessop, 2019;Hůla & Flegr, 2016) and it is valuable to maintain stimulus consistency across studies even if research questions are completely different: unforeseen and instructive relationships might then emerge.…”

“…Furthermore, while preference for symmetry in abstract patterns and shapes is a near universal law of aesthetics ( Palmer, Schloss, & Sammartino, 2013 ), many people prefer asymmetrical landscapes ( Bertamini et al., 2019 ), possibly because they look more familiar and less artificial ( Figure 1 ). It is also known that people often prefer asymmetrical compositions in paintings ( McManus, 2005 ).…”

The relation between symmetry in food packaging and approach and avoidance words

“…Peoples' preference for symmetry has been demonstrated in multiple contexts such as F i n a l A u t h o r ' s V e r s i o n those involving art (Locher, Overbeeke, & Stappers, 2005), abstract shapes (Velasco et al, 2016b), and food plating (Velasco, Michel, Woods, & Spence, 2016a). Although it is not fully understood why it is that people prefer symmetry over asymmetry, one possible explanation that has been forwarded is that the ease with which symmetry is processed, given its ubiquitous and regular appearance in nature, might lead to positive feelings (Bertamini, Makin, & Rampone, 2013;Bertamini, Rampone, Makin, & Jessop, 2019).…”