How is symmetry processed and how does that influence visual preference?

Everyone has experienced the sensation of looking at something beautiful, or made judgments about what they like and what they don't find appealing. But what happens between the cells that respond to light hitting the eye, and the time when we state our preferences? Unlike other thinkers concerned with aesthetics, such as philosophers and art critics, researchers working on cognitive neuroscience aim to discover how the humans process input from the senses (such as visual or hearing) and produce the emotional responses (pleasure) and preferences (overt judgements or tendencies to act in a particular way).

In most experiments, we will present people with different types of visual symmetry on a computer screen. Symmetry is important because an infinite number of symmetrical patterns can be generated - so we never have to show the same image twice. It is also interesting because symmetry appears throughout all cultures in human art and architecture. Animals are also sensitive to visual symmetry - so this is unlikely to be a cultural whim. We are interested in the links between the parts of the brain that detect visual symmetry, and those that produce emotional responses or overtly reported preferences.

The project will be split into six work packages, which will be shared between our national and international partners. WP1 will look at the relationship between detection speed and preference. It could be that the patterns that are most rapidly detected are the ones we like most. When we look at the world, we move our eyes all the time, therefore, WP2 will use an specialized eye tracking camera to measure peoples eye movements when they look at different kinds of symmetry. It could be that particular pattern of eye movements, for example, left to right, enhance preference. WP3 will measure brain activity using electrodes placed on the scalp. Patterns that produce more activity in the visual parts of the brain might be preferred to those which produce less visual activity.

In WP4 we will pioneer the use of new equipment to explore visual beauty. For example, in one study, we will use a computer program that implements a 'genetic algorithm'. Over many trials, the program produces patterns based on those that are looked at for the most time. The technique may have industrial applications, for example when designing graphics which most people find appealing. WP5 also explores new techniques with potential, real-world applications. It involves the use of Virtual Reality (VR) to present a room with different visual properties. It could be that the choice of patterns on the virtual walls speed up, or slow down the mental processing of emotional words, such as 'Love' or 'Hate'. This experiment will be conducted in Germany with Professor Heiko Hecht, who has used VR before. The experiment could produce a new tool for future interior designers, who want to test the psychological impact of their creative decisions. Finally, for WP6 we will discuss our ideas with the local art community in order to create a science-art dialogue, which is often lacking. WP6 will span the entire duration of the project, involving three annual meetings and a specialized workshop with both artists and scientists in year three.

In summary, this work will explore the brain-basis of beauty. It will help us understand the links between visual systems which detect patterns and other systems which produce emotional responses or aesthetic judgements. It will also develop two new techniques for exploring aesthetic processing, both of which have potential uses beyond the academic world. We hope this work will take research on aesthetics to exciting new places.

Given the range of techniques that we will use to investigate symmetry, there is a variety of potential impacts outside academia. These impacts range from arts to marketing and information technology.

Contributions to Culture and Society
In many aspects of human cultures, great emphasis is placed on the concept and experience of beauty. Understanding how the human mind converts patterns of sensory input into subjective aesthetic pleasure, and how this drives preference, is therefore of general interest beyond academia. We plan to actively interact with and disseminate our findings to artistic communities. For example, we will present our work in local galleries (Open Eye and FACT) thereby reaching out to arts practitioners and the public. We will engage scholars at these institutions both by discussing our work, and by asking them to make predictions about results of experiments based on their own intuitive understanding of what it means to be an artist (WP6). The aim is to engage artists and people working in creative industries with the scientific study of aesthetics. We have also provided the contact details of two artists (under Users), one in Liverpool (Carl Hunter) and one in New York (Anita Sto) who know about our work and can conform their interest.

Industrial applications
The proposed work involves developing new methods for measuring implicit preferences. Such measures could be very attractive in commercial settings. We will build on work investigating eye movement in relation to preference. Early work was sponsored by Proctor and Gamble, and is now under further development by Acuity Intelligence Ltd. A more advanced investigation along these lines, focusing on symmetry, will be at the centre of our Work Package 4 at RHUL, involving Tim Holmes as consultant. Together with Professor Johannes Zanker, he has developed a computer algorithm that presents an array of different stimuli, evaluates preference using an eye tracker, and adapts the stimulus set accordingly. Through a number of stimulus 'generations', a set of pattern is evolving that resembles the preferred design. We will use this genetic algorithm to measure the evolution of aesthetic preferences for visual regularity and symmetry. Once the system has been optimized and validated, it will have immediate commercial applications, and industrial partners already showed considerable interest to use such methods for packaging or the organization of shelf displays. As a proof of concept, the procedure has already been used to investigate optimal crisp package designs.

In WP5 we are going to use a virtual reality system in collaboration with Professor Heiko Hecht at the University of Mainz. We will test if the findings of from our laboratory in Liverpool generalize to a 3D environment by manipulating the patterns on the walls of a virtual room. If the environment affects emotional processing, interior designers may be keen to apply the methodology to test the psychological impact of their plans for user-friendly of public spaces. The advantage of implicit procedures compared to overt verbal reporting is clear: with overt reports, participants may just try to say what they believe the researcher wants to hear, or simply avoid giving honest answers. Implicit preference measures avoid this problem, and thus more accurately approximate emotional processing in the real world, where there is rarely any obligation to report every subtle aesthetic impression. This has immense potential to boost the validity of market research in general.

In sum, whilst the current project will be of interest to academics working in aesthetics, the outcomes will go beyond this group of immediate users. We have specifically tailored certain experiments to engage a wider audience including those working in creative industries, and to have an impact on non-academic/commercial applications.