The Assessment of Preference for Balance: Introducing a New Test

Abstract

Balance is a central feature that contributes to the organizational structure of aesthetic visual images. Balance gives unity to an otherwise diverse display. Dynamic balance refers to the way in which disparate elements of an image produce visual forces that compensate for each other. Despite the importance of balance on aesthetic perception and production, few tests are designed to assess sensitivity or preference for this important attribute of images. Here, we introduce the assessment of preference for balance (APB) and report a method to derive an objective balance score. In selecting items for this test, we eliminated images that produce local grouping effects and confound assessment of the effects of dynamic balance per se. Our final test constitutes 130 images comprised of circles or hexagon elements. The objective balance scores accounted for 73% and 78% of the variance, respectively, in subjective preferences for these images.