Beauty and the sharp fangs of the beast: degree of angularity predicts perceived preference and threat.

The evaluation of angular vs. curved forms has a long history in psychology but few of the many studies conducted have examined actual degree of angularity. In two experiments, we present observers with randomly positioned and randomly oriented texture displays of angles viewed within a circular frame.

The aesthetics of frieze patterns: Effects of symmetry, motif, and element size.

Frieze patterns appear frequently in architectural designs and ornamental patterning but their aesthetic qualities have never been studied experimentally. In the first experiment, 39 undergraduates used a seven-point rating scale to assess the perceived beauty of the seven basic frieze types presented at a horizontal orientation. The friezes consisted of individual curved and linear motifs as well as random textures.

How to Lay Bricks: Local-Global Alignment Predicts Preference for Shifted Tile Patterns.

We examine the aesthetic characteristics of row tile patterns defined by repeating strips of polygons. In experiment 1 participants rated the perceived beauty of equilateral triangle, square and rectangular tilings presented at vertical and horizontal orientations. The tiles were shifted by one-fourth increments of a complete row cycle.

Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder.

Recent studies have shown that preference judgments can vary considerably from one person to another and when these data are averaged the results can be misleading. In the current study, we examine individual differences in aesthetic preference for randomized visual patterns. In Experiment 1, we start with a structured checkerboard and progressively randomize its alternating black and white squares by 10% increments.

Perceived beauty of random texture patterns: A preference for complexity.

We report two experiments on the perceived aesthetic quality of random density texture patterns. In each experiment a square grid was filled with a progressively larger number of elements. Grid size in Experiment 1 was 10×10 with elements added to create a variety of textures ranging from 10%-100% fill levels.

Aesthetic judgment of triangular shape: compactness and not the golden ratio determines perceived attractiveness.

Many studies over a period of more than a century have investigated the influence of the golden ratio on perceived geometric beauty. Surprisingly, very few of these studies used triangular shapes. In Experiment 1, we presented right triangles that differed in regard to their elongation determined by increasing the length of one side relative to another.

Visual estimation of three- and four-body center of mass.

Center-of-mass perception in dot patterns arranged into triangular and quadrilateral configurations was investigated. In Exp. 1, the length, orientation, and direction of dots forming right triangles were varied.

Hierarchical number estimation.

We investigated number estimation using dot patterns grouped by proximity into larger clusters. Participants estimated the number of dots and clusters in separate trials. Estimation was most accurate when the numbers of elements on both scales were the same.

Perception of two-body center of mass.

Participants estimated the perceptual center of mass between two horizontally oriented black dots varying in size and distance. Experiment 1 showed that estimates, measured as distance from the larger dot's center, decreased with an increase in size ratio between the dots and a decrease in the distance between them, as predicted by the physical center-of-mass equation. The results were replicated and extended in further experiments with different ratios and distances.

No within-object advantage for detection of rotation.

It is known that in a detection task the type of rigid transformation to be detected (reflection vs. translation) interacts with the type of display (closed vs. open contours).