Predicting perceived visual complexity of abstract patterns using computational measures: The influence of mirror symmetry on complexity perception

Gartus, Andreas; Leder, Helmut

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185276

Cited by 50 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…Two inversely related factors mainly account for perceived visual complexity: quantity and variety of elements, and order or structure (e.g., Gartus & Leder, 2017;Nadal et al, 2010). The different contributions of pitch and rhythm to perceived musical complexity also respond to the combination of several factors: First, the number of different Running head: THE MUST SET AND TOOLBOX rhythmic figures is lower than that of pitches in this particular musical idiom.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MUST Set and Toolbox: A Set of 200 Musical Stimuli Varying in Balance, Contour, Symmetry, and Complexity: Behavioral and Computational Assessments

Clemente¹,

Vila-Vidal²,

Mt³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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We present a novel set of 200 Western tonal musical stimuli (MUST) to be used in research on perception and appreciation of music. It consists of four subsets of 50 stimuli varying in balance, contour, symmetry, or complexity. All are 4 s long and designed to be musically appealing and experimentally controlled. We assessed them behaviorally and computationally. The behavioral assessment (Study 1) aimed to determine whether musically untrained participants could identify variations in each attribute. Forty-three participants rated the stimuli in each subset on the corresponding attribute. We found that inter-rater reliability was high and that the ratings mirrored the design features well. Participants’ ratings also served to create an abridged set of 24 stimuli per subset. The computational assessment (Study 2) required the development of a specific battery of computational measures describing the structural properties of each stimulus. We distilled nonredundant composite measures for each attribute and examined whether they predicted participants’ ratings. Our results show that the composite measures indeed predicted participants’ ratings. Moreover, the composite complexity measure predicted complexity ratings at least as well as existing models of musical complexity. We conclude that the four subsets are suitable for use in studies that require presenting participants with short musical motifs varying in balance, contour, symmetry, or complexity, and that the stimuli and the computational measures are valuable resources for research in music psychology, empirical aesthetics, music information retrieval, and musicology. The MUST set and MATLAB toolbox codifying the computational measures are freely available at osf.io/bfxz7.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MUST Set and Toolbox: A Set of 200 Musical Stimuli Varying in Balance, Contour, Symmetry, and Complexity: Behavioral and Computational Assessments

Clemente¹,

Vila-Vidal²,

Mt³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, as some complexity is also appreciated ( McManus, 2005 ) but negatively correlated with symmetry ( Gartus & Leder, 2017 ; Nadal, Munar, Marty, & Cela-Conde, 2010 ), and as humans generally differ in their appreciation of visual objects, it stands to reason if symmetrical patterns are generally preferred compared with asymmetrical patterns. The aim of our study was therefore to test whether visual symmetry is generally preferred over visual asymmetry (cf.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implicit and Explicit Evaluation of Visual Symmetry as a Function of Art Expertise

2018

Self Cite

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In perception, humans typically prefer symmetrical over asymmetrical patterns. Yet, little is known about differences in symmetry preferences depending on individuals’ different past histories of actively reflecting upon pictures and patterns. To address this question, we tested the generality of the symmetry preference for different levels of individual art expertise. The preference for symmetrical versus asymmetrical abstract patterns was measured implicitly, by an Implicit Association Test (IAT), and explicitly, by a rating scale asking participants to evaluate pattern beauty. Participants were art history and psychology students. Art expertise was measured using a questionnaire. In the IAT, art expertise did not alter the preference for symmetrical over asymmetrical patterns. In contrast, the explicit rating scale showed that with higher art expertise, the ratings for the beauty of asymmetrical patterns significantly increased, but, again, participants preferred symmetrical over asymmetrical patterns. The results are discussed in light of different theories on the origins of symmetry preference. Evolutionary adaptation might play a role in symmetry preferences for art experts similarly to nonexperts, but experts tend to emphasize the beauty of asymmetrical depictions, eventually considering different criteria, when asked explicitly to indicate their preferences.

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“…The model is designed to show the relation amongst perception, complexity, familiarity, knowledge, style, content, and experiences (expertise) in the psychological mechanisms involved in the appreciation of art. One of the indicatives for aesthetic judgement is complexity which influences aesthetic evaluation during the early perceptual analysis of objects of aesthetic …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the indicatives for aesthetic judgement is complexity which influences aesthetic evaluation during the early perceptual analysis of objects of aesthetic. [6][7][8][9] Complexity is usually associated with disorder and is defined as the edge of chaos. It is the equilibrator among chaos and ultimate simplicity so it is the transition space between order and disorder.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Color and visual complexity in abstract images

Kocaoğlu

Olguntürk

2018

Color Research & Application

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One of the more important aspects of vision is color perception, which involves aesthetic and psychological responses. The aim of this study is to understand the association between color and visual complexity in abstract images. It is hypothesized that, as the intelligibility of colors in an abstract image decreases, visual complexity and visual interest will increase until there is over unintelligibility where complexity and interest will decrease. In addition, as the difficulty in distinguishing the rules and the variety of colors used in images increases, visual complexity and visual interest will also increase. Abstract images are selected since they are independent from the visual references of the actual world, and are basics of art and architecture. The results revealed that images that were evaluated as visually complex and interesting were the ones that they had difficulty in finding a color harmony and indicate a huge variety of colors to the extent that differentiation between hues becomes very difficult.

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Predicting perceived visual complexity of abstract patterns using computational measures: The influence of mirror symmetry on complexity perception

Cited by 50 publications

References 117 publications

The MUST Set and Toolbox: A Set of 200 Musical Stimuli Varying in Balance, Contour, Symmetry, and Complexity: Behavioral and Computational Assessments

The MUST Set and Toolbox: A Set of 200 Musical Stimuli Varying in Balance, Contour, Symmetry, and Complexity: Behavioral and Computational Assessments

Implicit and Explicit Evaluation of Visual Symmetry as a Function of Art Expertise

Color and visual complexity in abstract images

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