“Upright” orientations of forms change with subject age and with features of form

Abstract

This research investigated the role of certain intrinsic features of two-dimensional nonrepresentational forms in their judged “upright” orientation. The forms were individually projected by an apparatus that allowed rotation through the 360-deg range. The subjects (from kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, 6th, college grades) were asked to place each form in “upright” orientation. For some forms, these chosen orientations were the same for all age groups, apparently reflecting the universal and equal effect of certain intrinsic features. For other forms, chosen orientation changed systematically across age, in a manner possibly reflecting the influence of reading-scansion habits that changed with age. The intrinsic features related to upright judgments were symmetry, polar axes, texture lines, taper, and flat bottoms. Results partly disconfirm the hypothesis that forms are judged “upright” with their “focal portions” at the top.