Visual search asymmetry for angular figures
Apstrakt
The well-described phenomenon of preference for curved
shapes could be explained by the fluency hypothesis, which
states that curvature enables their fluent processing in the
visual field. According to this hypothesis, curved figures
should be faster recognized among angular, while the opposite
would not be the case. In order to test the fluency
hypothesis, we used a classical visual search task, with two
types of the target (curved and angular), three set sizes (1,
6, 12 elements), and two set types (positive and negative).
In addition, we made three experimental designs: (1) classical,
where the complexity of curved and angular figures
was not controlled, (2) matched, where curved and angular
figures were matched by the number of changes in shape,
and (3) symmetrical, consisting curved and angular figures
balanced by participants’ subjective ratings of complexity.
Reaction time was recorded. 31 participants took part in
the experiment. The results of Generalized estim...ating equations
analysis revealed search asymmetry for curved stimulus
in classical design (Wald χ2(1)=14.96; p<.001), while the
angular figure is faster recognized in both matched (Wald
χ2(1)=9.54; p<.01) and symmetrical design (Wald χ2(1)
218 Perception 50(1S)
=86.66; p<.001). This difference was particularly noticeable
in negative and large sets. Our results indicate that the
hypothesis of fluency could be rejected when curved and
angular stimuli are equally complex, and that angularity
should be considered as a basic stimuli feature which pops
out in the visual field.