Symmetry in Nature

Symmetry matters and can be good, even in natural scenes, but too much can put us off. 

We’ve previously reported on the implications of viewing symmetrical arrangements of things here.

Damiano and colleagues report that “Symmetry generally makes stimuli less complex, and symmetric arrangements are also generally preferred to asymmetric ones. . . .

We collected ratings of complexity, aesthetic pleasure, and interest for 720 scene images and calculated average ratings for each image. . . . as symmetry increases and makes a scene less complex, it also renders the scene less pleasing and interesting. . . . our results lend support to the idea that both complexity and simplicity influence the aesthetic pleasure of natural scenes.”

So like in all things, everything in moderation!

C. Damiano, J. Wilder, E. Zhou, D. Walther, and J. Wagemans. “The Role of Local and Global Symmetry in Pleasure, Interest, and Complexity Judgments of Natural Scenes.”  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, in press,https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000398