Seven rectangles with different ratios of the lengths of their sides but of approximately equal areas were presented to 120 subjects to assess their aesthetic preferences for each rectangle. The method of pair comparisons was used for presentation of the rectangles. Subjects tended to prefer the golden rectangle. Also rectangles in the vicinity of the golden rectangle were preferred to those deviating markedly from it.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AronsonECarlsmithJ. M.Experimentation in social psychology. In LindzeyG.AronsonE. (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology. Vol. 2. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1968. Pp. 1–79.
2.
BenjafieldJ.The “golden rectangle”: Some new data. American Journal of Psychology, 1976, 89, 737–743.
3.
BerlyneD. E.Aesthetics and psychobiology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1971.
4.
FechnerG. T.Vorschule der Aesthetik. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1876.
5.
GodkewitschM.The “golden section:” An artifact of stimulus range and measure of preference. American Journal of Psychology, 1974, 87, 269–277.
6.
GuilfordJ. P.Psychometric methods. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1954.
7.
MostellerF.Remarks on the method of paired comparisons: III. A test of significance for paired comparisons when equal standard deviations and equal correlations are assumed. Psychometrika, 1951, 16, 207–218.
8.
PiehlJ.The “golden section”: An artifact of stimulus range and demand characteristics. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1976, 43, 47–50.
