Visual Complexity and Preference for Parkway Scenes

Abstract

The relationship between the visual complexity and the order of preference of five roadside maintenance scenes along a parkway was examined. The composition of the five scenes varied along a dimension of roadside maintenance. The relationship between the degree of complexity of the scene and its preferred rank was curvilinear. Scenes of the greatest complexity were preferred first or last, with scenes of least complexity falling in the middle range. A relatively large number of social variables were examined to explain the order of the complexity of the scenes. No relationship was found between the social variables and the ratings of complexity for the five scenes.