Lateral Organization in Pictures and Aesthetic Preference

Abstract

416 Ss, drawn with equal sex representation from Grades 1 through university level, rendered aesthetic preferences for original vs mirror-image views of each of a series of 20 pictures. The grand mean number of original views selected was significantly greater than chance expectation. Preference for the original varied significantly over pictures, with the following properties of lateral organization emerging most distinctly as influential in the response: (a) pattern of lighting, (b) profile orientation, (c) handedness characteristics, (d) quadrant distribution of important objects, and (e) ease of entering the picture space. Choice was also a function of the positional arrangement of the two views. In respect of individual differences, when preference behavior is averaged over paintings, educational level is a more important dimension than either sex or handedness. When preference is considered for paintings singly, the influence of sex and handedness may be considerable.