Right and Left Orientation in Pictures

Abstract

In Exp. I, 26 naive Ss, 13 male and 13 female, all volunteer undergraduate students, rendered aesthetic preferences for left vs right views of each of 12 pictures. The 12 pictures offered a prediction of preference for 6 views toward the left, 6 toward the right. The criterion of view preference was within-picture unification. Two predictions were confirmed, while no differences in the non-predicted direction reached significance. In Exp. II, with 17 Ss, 8 males and 9 females, each of whom received minimal training in left-right discrimination, the same stimulus materials were used. Three predictions were confirmed, with no differences at all in the non-predicted direction. Training in Exp. II, though not completely ineffective, was not perceived to have a significant effect. The correlation between the performances of the naive and trained groups on the 12 pictures was significant (p < .02). The results justify further exploration.