Differences in the Visual Perception of Symmetric Patterns in Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) and Two Human Cultural Groups: A Comparative Eye-Tracking Study.

Cordelia Mühlenbeck,Thomas Jacobsen,Carla Pritsch,Katja Liebal

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00408

Cordelia Mühlenbeck, Thomas Jacobsen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00408

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Abstract

Symmetric structures are of importance in relation to aesthetic preference. To investigate whether the preference for symmetric patterns is unique to humans, independent of their cultural background, we compared two human populations with distinct cultural backgrounds (Namibian hunter-gatherers and German town dwellers) with one species of non-human great apes (Orangutans) in their viewing behavior regarding symmetric and asymmetric patterns in two levels of complexity. In addition, the human participants were asked to give their aesthetic evaluation of a subset of the presented patterns. The results showed that humans of both cultural groups fixated on symmetric patterns for a longer period of time, regardless of the pattern’s complexity. On the contrary, Orangutans did not clearly differentiate between symmetric and asymmetric patterns, but were much faster in processing the presented stimuli and scanned the complete screen, while both human groups rested on the symmetric pattern after a short scanning time. The aesthetic evaluation test revealed that the fixation preference for symmetric patterns did not match with the aesthetic evaluation in the Hai//om group, whereas in the German group aesthetic evaluation was in accordance with the fixation preference in 60 percent of the cases. It can be concluded that humans prefer well-ordered structures in visual processing tasks, most likely because of a positive processing bias for symmetry, which Orangutans did not show in this task, and that, in humans, an aesthetic preference does not necessarily accompany the fixation preference.

Highlights

Symmetry is known to be of importance with regard to visual and aesthetic preferences in a range of different contexts, such as art, skin decorations (Cárdenas and Harris, 2006), faces (Roye et al, 2008), and body shapes (Jacobsen, 2006)
First, symmetrical, ordered structures are visually preferred and that this fixation preference for symmetry should be present across cultural groups and in closely related primate species and, second, that the fixation preference for symmetrical patterns should be accompanied by an aesthetic appreciation
The results show that both Germans and Hai//om preferred symmetric over asymmetric patterns in their fixation, suggesting that this preference might be a universal human feature, while no such preference was evident for Orangutans

Summary

Introduction

Symmetry is known to be of importance with regard to visual and aesthetic preferences in a range of different contexts, such as art, skin decorations (Cárdenas and Harris, 2006), faces (Roye et al, 2008), and body shapes (Jacobsen, 2006). Various studies in experimental aesthetics have examined the perception and evaluation of symmetry (Eisenman, 1967; Day, 1968; Eisenman and Gellens, 1968; Dörner and Vehrs, 1975; Jacobsen and Höfel, 2002, 2003; Jacobsen et al, 2006; Höfel and Jacobsen, 2007; Makin et al, 2012), the importance of Perception of Symmetry – Comparative Eye-Tracking Study a balanced composition, and the degree of complexity (Berlyne, 1970, 1971, 1974) of an image. Jacobsen and Höfel (2002) conducted an aesthetic evaluation study and asked participants to classify symmetrical and asymmetrical graphic patterns hierarchically according to their personal aesthetic judgment This aesthetic judgment was later analyzed in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study (Jacobsen et al, 2006). These studies showed, as did previous studies (for review see Tyler, 1995; Treder, 2010), that a sensitivity to symmetry plays a role for human visual information processing

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