A review of research on aesthetic measure

Abstract

This paper reviews two groups of studies in the general area of figure preference and aesthetic measure done between 1927 and 1966. One group of studies found that the visual elements of simplicity and symmetry were characteristic of aesthetic objects preferred by artists; whereas the other group of studies found that the visual elements of complexity and asymmetry were characteristic of the aesthetic objects so preferred. Many of the studies attributed these differences in figure preference to differences in personality. The present writer has suggested an alternative hypothesis that might account for the divergent results. He has reviewed research from outside the general area of experimental aesthetics which suggest that the specific characteristics of training in art could account for the discrepancies noted in the review of the research. Future research in aesthetic measure would need to consider the various learning variables involved in both aesthetic preference and aesthetic judgement. This area of learning is critical to new developments in aesthetic education which are concerned with developing aesthetic awareness in children.