Aesthetic sensitivity to curvature in real objects and abstract designs

Abstract

The features of objects have a strong influence on how we evaluate, judge, approach, and behave toward them. People generally prefer complex, symmetric, balanced and curved designs. In addition to these general trends, however, there are substantial differences among people in what they like and prefer, and in the extent to which their preferences and choices are modulated by design features. Here we aimed to determine whether curvature in real objects and abstract designs influenced participants’ preference to the same extent. We found that, in general, participants prefer real objects and abstract designs with curved contours. But we also uncovered a remarkable breadth of variation in individual preferences. Finally, our results show that people who are highly sensitive to curvature in real objects are also highly sensitive to curvature in abstract designs, and that people who are insensitive to curvature in one kind of stimulus are also insensitive to the other.