reduction of image complexity explains aesthetic preference for symmetry减少图像的复杂性解释审美偏爱对称.pdfVIP

Symmetry 2011, 3, 443-456; doi:10.3390/sym3030443 OPEN ACCESS symmetry ISSN 2073-8994 /journal/symmetry Article Reduction of Image Complexity Explains Aesthetic Preference for Symmetry Chien-Chung Chen 1,2,*, Jo-Hsuan Wu 3 and Chia-Ching Wu 1 1 Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; E-Mail: wintery@ 2 Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan 3 Taipei First Girls’ High School, Taipei 10045, Taiwan; E-Mail: uuuuuu1s@.tw * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: c3chen@.tw; Tel.: +886-2 Received: 11 April 2011; in revised form: 2 June 2011 / Accepted: 29 June 2011 / Published: 11 July 2011 Abstract: Symmetric patterns are more appealing to human observers than asymmetric ones. Here, we investigate the visual information processing mechanisms underlying this aesthetic preference. All stimuli were derived from phase scrambled versions of forty face or nature images. In addition to the scrambled images, there were four other types of test image: symmetric, in which one part of the image was a reflection of another around an axis; repetitive, in which one part of the image was a copy of the other; anti-symmetric, similar to symmetric but with the contrast of one side reversed; and interleaved patterns, in which half of the symmetric pattern was replaced by a scrambled image. The number of axes ranged from 1 to 16 for all image types. The task of our 20 observers was to give a preference ratin