Symmetry as an Inter-Cultural Feature Constituting Beauty: Implicit and Explicit Beauty Evaluation of Visual Symmetry in Japan
- Author(s)
- Helmut Leder, Jan Mikuni, Hideaki Kawabata, Raphael Rosenberg
- Abstract
Symmetry has been recognized as one of the most important visual features to predict aesthetic preferences and was discussed as a potentially universal feature of beauty judgments. Recent studies have challenged such universality claims, by showing that art experts prefer asymmetric stimuli in explicit evaluations, suggesting that artistic training might modify the preference for symmetry. In the present study, we examine whether cultural habituation might also influence beauty judgments in regard to symmetry in abstract visual patterns. Given the traditional preference for asymmetry in Japanese art and design, we tested if Japanese participants (N = 31) evaluate symmetric abstract visual patterns as more beautiful than asymmetric ones in explicit and implicit (IAT) tasks. We found that Japanese participants clearly evaluated symmetric stimuli as more beautiful than asymmetric ones. We conclude that cultural habituation with asymmetry—in contrast to artistic training—did not cause higher beauty ratings for asymmetry.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, Department of Art History
- External organisation(s)
- Keio University
- Journal
- Empirical Studies of the Arts
- Pages
- 1-17
- No. of pages
- 17
- ISSN
- 0276-2374
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231183377
- Publication date
- 2023
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 501030 Cognitive science
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Music, Visual Arts and Performing Arts, Literature and Literary Theory
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/symmetry-as-an-intercultural-feature-constituting-beauty-implicit-and-explicit-beauty-evaluation-of-visual-symmetry-in-japan(69f78bbd-c23e-4cf7-b45d-9c110562ea28).html