Psy 304 InClass Experiment

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Psy 304 In-Class Experiment

• A test of the Golden Section (GS) Hypothesis
• The GS is a proportion that, in various
  geometric, arithmetic, biological , and artistic
  concepts, has fascinated some of the finest minds
  in European philosophy, science, and the arts for
  some 2,600 years. (Konecni, 2005)

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• In essence, the GSH states that certain shapes
  with a proportion of 1 1.618 are more
  aesthetically pleasing than other shapes.
• So, the golden rectangle would have a shape of
  roughly
• The sides would be 1.00 and 1.618 units.
• The ratio of the short side to the long side
  would be 0.618 (SS/LS)
• The ratio of the long side to the short side
  would be 1.618 (LS/SS)

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• This ratio can also be expressed when dividing a
  line where it looks best.
• X
• For a 5 unit long line the dividing point would
  be at 1.91 units (3.09 unit)
• The ratio of the long segment to the short
  segment (3.09 to 1.91) is the same as the ratio
  of the entire line to the long segment (5.00 to
  3.09) or 0.618.
• See also Konecnis (1997) study with vases.

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• Mathematically, the GS can be defined by using
  the Fibonacci series, where each number (except
  the first two,1 and 1) is the sum of the
  preceding two numbers.
• 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55
• The ratio of successive pairs approaches the
  golden ratio.
• http//htpprints.yorku.ca/archive/00000003/00/gold
  rev3.htm

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• It has been suggested that the GS may have its
  basis in nature, since some biological shapes
  (some ferns, some shells) tend to conform to the
  ratio.

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Gustav Theodore Fechner

• G.T. Fechner (1876) was the first person to
  empirically test the GSH.
• Fechner pioneered three methods of study
• The Method of Choice.
• The Method of Use.
• The Method of Production.

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Method of Choice

• Rectangles of varying proportions are presented
  to viewers who are asked to choose which is more
  pleasing.
• Choose one.

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Method of Use

• The shapes of objects existing within a culture
  are examined. See Shortess, Clarke and Shannon
  (1997)
• For example, the proportions of paintings in a
  museum or an art history text or clip art.

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Method of Production

• Participants are asked to produce or make shapes
  that they consider pleasing or that look good.
• Sound familiar?
• But Fechner and most others have used simple
  rectangles, usually in outline form.

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• Fechner actually conducted these tests of the
  GSH, and reported support for the GSH.
• Many studies have followed Fechners, but as Hoge
  (1996) noted, the literature is full of
  contradictory results on this topic. (p. 79)

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• Konecni (2005) has argued that the value of these
  studies may be limited by the quaint belief that
  the GS is a concept so broad and powerful that it
  can be captured with almost any stimuli, setting
  and type of subject. (p.76)

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Hoges (1996) replication study

• Nevertheless, Hoge attempted to carefully
  replicate Fechners original study using the
  method of production.
• Hoge indicated that inconsistencies in the ways
  that Fechner reported his procedures made an
  exact replication impossible.

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• Hoge presented the given line near the bottom
  third of a standard piece of German typing paper.
  (slightly more elongated than U.S. paper)
• Hoge presented participants with lines of varying
  lengths and asked them to use the given line as
  one side of a rectangular quadrangle and then to
  use a pen or pencil to draw a rectangle.
• The resulting shapes were simple outline
  rectangles.
• He used the term Rectangular Quadrangle since
  he was concerned that the simpler term
  rectangle would prevent participants from
  drawing squares.

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• Hoge found the the drawn sides increased in
  length with the given sides of the rectangles, as
  he had predicted.
• However, Hoges findings of SS/LS ratios of 0.64
  and 0.74 in two instruction conditions
  (beautiful rectangular quadrangles vs.
  rectangular quadrangles, respectively) failed to
  replicate Fechners support for the GSH.

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Unpublished studies (some background)

• I did several unpublished studies attempting to
  replicate Hoges (1996) study.
• First, I varied where the placement of the given
  line (or side) on the piece of paper.
• Placement did influence the proportions of the
  drawn rectangles, but they didnt fit the GSH. It
  appeared that students were trying to draw the
  rectangle symmetrically on the paper
• Context, as Konecni (2005) has suggested, did
  seem to matter.

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Unpublished studies (contd)

• Second, I varied the size of paper (context
  again) on which the given lines (sides) were
  printed. (Fall 2004 in Psy 304)
• I used 8-1/2 X 11 inch typing paper (SS/LS ratio
  0.77) and 8-1/2 X 14 inch legal size paper
  (SS/LS ratio 0.61).
• Results showed that paper size had no effect on
  the proportion of the drawn rectangles. The
  rectangles were not drawn to fit the paper.
• Further, the rectangles did not conform to the
  GSH. Rather, they were quite elongated.

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Unpublished studies (contd)

• The participants (Psy 304 students) had several
  suggestions to explain their elongated
  rectangular quadrangles.

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Unpublished studies (contd)

• The participants (Psy 304 students) had several
  suggestions to explain their elongated
  rectangular quadrangles.
• Their lack of artistic skill caused them use more
  easily drawn shorter sides

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Unpublished studies (contd)

• The participants (Psy 304 students) had several
  suggestions to explain their elongated
  rectangular quadrangles.
• Their lack of artistic skill caused them use more
  easily drawn shorter sides.
• The word beautiful in the original instructions
  implied that wavy or crooked lines were to be
  avoided again, shorter lines were easier to draw
  well.

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Unpublished studies (contd)

• The participants (Psy 304 students) had several
  suggestions to explain their elongated
  rectangular quadrangles.
• The word beautiful in the original instructions
  meant that wavy or crooked lines were to be
  avoided thus shorter lines.
• Vague instructions were confusing. (5 of 47
  participants were dropped from the study for
  failure to follow the instructions.)

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Unpublished studies (contd)

• For Spring 2005, Psy 304 students took part in a
  new study to try to solve some of the problems
  the earlier students had noted.

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• The Spring 2005 study
• We used a computer (Paint program) to draw
  outline rectangles with sides that were perfectly
  straight lines and all angles were 90 degree.
• Your experiment (Spring 2006) was based on these
  procedures,

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Used a computer (Paint program) to draw
  rectangles with perfectly straight lines and all
  90 degree angles.
• The instructions did not include the problematic
  word beautiful. Instead they said looks good
  to you.

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Used a computer (Paint program) to draw
  rectangles with perfectly straight lines and all
  90 degree angles.
• The instructions did not include the word
  beautiful. Instead they said looks good to
  you.
• We included practice trials and any errors could
  be undone.

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Used a computer (Paint program) to draw
  rectangles with perfectly straight lines and all
  90 degree angles.
• The instructions did not include the word
  beautiful. Instead they said looks good to
  you.
• Practice trials were included and errors could be
  undone.
• Measurements were more precise (in pixels).

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Used a computer (Paint program) to draw
  rectangles with perfectly straight lines and all
  90 degree angles.
• The instructions did not include the word
  beautiful. Instead they said looks good to
  you.
• Practice trials were included and errors could be
  undone.
• Measurements were more precise (in pixels).
• The given side could be oriented either
  horizontally or vertically, unlike previous
  studies where it was always horizontal.

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Results
• No students were dropped from the study.

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Results
• No students were dropped from the study.
• As the length of the given side increased, the
  length of the drawn side increased. Thus, Hoges
  (1996) finding was replicated.

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Results
• No students were dropped from the study.
• As the length of the given side increased, the
  length of the drawn side increased. Thus, Hoges
  (1996) finding was replicated.
• The length of the drawn side was greater when the
  given side was vertically oriented, consistent
  with the horizontal/vertical illusion.

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• The Spring 2005 study
• Results
• No students were dropped from the study.
• As the length of the given side increased, the
  length of the drawn side increased. Thus, Hoges
  (1996) finding was replicated.
• The length of the drawn side was greater when the
  given side was vertically oriented, consistent
  with the horizontal/vertical illusion.
• However, few of the 228 rectangles that were
  drawn conformed to the GSH. Again, this is
  consistent with Hoges (1996) finding.

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Psy 304 Fall 2005 Experiment

• In Fall 2005 we extended the Spring 2005 study.
• Once again, the Paint program was used to
  investigate the GSH using the method of
  production.
• There were only two substantive changes made in
  the procedures from last semester. First, four
  different given sides of 130, 180, 230, and 280
  pixels, and all given sides were horizontal.

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• The Major change was that the participants were
  asked to produce either sold or open rectangular
  quadrangle.

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• Results
• As given side increased, so did drawn side,
  replicating Hoges (1996) study.
• Again, no support for the GS hypothesis.
• No effect due to solid vs. open rectangles.
• No significant interaction.

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Spring 2006 Experiment

• The purpose of the present study was to extend
  the previous research using a different type of
  stimulus and a different response.
• Shortess, Clarke and Shannon (1997) had shown
  that the platinum ratio (.75) rather than the
  golden ratio (.62) best described a variety of
  stimuli including works of art.
• The present study used stimuli similar to
  abstract art to determine whether the overall
  shapes that participants would produce would
  conform to the golden ratio or to the platinum
  ratio. Plain rectangles served as a control
  condition.

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Spring 2006 Experiment

• Studies using Fechners method of use (i.e., with
  existing real world objects) typically involve
  shapes that have some internal structure. They
  are not simply open or closed rectangles.
• The present study attempted to determine whether
  shapes with internal structure, such as
  non-representational art, or plain shapes would
  differentially influence the constructed
  proportions.

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Spring 2006 Hypotheses

• Based on the study by Shortess et al. (1997), we
  hypothesized that the students would produce
  shapes that conformed to the platinum ratio
  rather than the golden ratio.
• We predicted that the abstract art would be
  responded to differently than the plain
  rectangles.
• Our additional research questions were primarily
  methodological
• (a) whether cropping from the right or left would
  influence the shapes the participants made, and
• (b) whether the specific stimuli that we used
  would have differential effects on the shapes
  that the students made.

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Method

• There were 39 participants - Psy 304 students
  three sections- part of course activity
• Run individually in a research lab by the
  course instructor
• Sitting on 24 inch. stool at 36 inch. lab table
  in front of the monitor Note Convert to metric

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Method

• Apparatus - included a Gateway EV700 17 monitor
  800 X 600 resolution 32 bit color quality
• Microsoft Paint program (Version 5.1).
• Gateway Pentium 4 with 1.6 GHz CPU and 256 MB of
  RAM
• Participants used a standard wired mouse to make
  responses. Experimenter used the keyboard to
  present trials.

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• Method
• All participants filled out informed consent, sat
  at monitor, read along with instructions. Shown
  on next slide.
• Instructions are shown.
• Two practice trials familiarized participants
  with the task. Undo function mentioned.
• The debriefing statement is shown.
• The 5 abstract stimuli are shown. Rectangles
  were the same size and same base color.

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• INFORMED CONSENT
• I, ______________________________, hereby agree
  to serve as a subject in the in-class research
  experiment entitled Drawing Shapes conducted by
  Dr. J. Craig Clarke as part of my Spring 2006
  Psychology 304 course requirements.
• I understand that the study involves drawing some
  shapes using a computer and that there are
  virtually no risks involved in this experiment.
  It has been explained to me that the purpose of
  this experiment is to learn how people judge
  shapes.
• I may not receive any direct benefit from
  participation in this study other than fulfilling
  course credit, but my participation may help
  others to increase knowledge which may benefit
  others in the future.
• The experimenters have offered to answer any
  questions I may have about the study and what is
  expected of me in the study.
• I have read and understand the foregoing
  information.
• I understand that I have the right to end my
  participation in the experiment at any time
  without jeopardizing my grade in Experimental
  Psychology.
• Date __ Participant Signature
  ___________________________________
  
• Experimenter Signature __________________________
  ______
• If you have any adverse effects or concerns about
  the research, please contact the primary
  investigator, Dr. J. Craig Clarke, Department of
  Psychology, 410-543-6530 or Salisbury
  University's Office of Grants and Sponsored
  Research at 410-548-5395.

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• Method
• Each participant was randomly assigned to either
  the abstract art or rectangle stimulus condition.
• Each participant was randomly assigned to crop
  the stimulus from either the left side or from
  the right side.
• The resulting shapes had to be wider than they
  were tall.
• Order of experimental conditions was
  counterbalanced.
• Students entered the experiment based roughly on
  their seating position in class.
• Each participant had a different random order of
  the five stimuli.

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• Method
• The five different stimuli had the following
  dimensions (in pixels). Coordinates are also
  given in parentheses
• 1 Dk. Green 571x353 pixels (77,49 648, 402)
• 2 Lt Green 615x320 pixels (58,52 673,372)
• 3 Red 539x299 pixels (108,77 647,376)
• 4 Beige 589x295 pixels (66,70, 655,365)
• 5 Dk. Blue 525x287 pixels (85,90 610,376)

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• Method
• The five different stimuli had the following
  color characteristics according to the PAINT
  program
• (RRed, GGreen, BBlue)
• Look up the other terms in Paint.
• 1 R 0, G 128, B 128, Hue 120, Sat 240, Lum 60
• 2 R 0, G 255, B 255, Hue 120, Sat 240, Lum 120
• 3 R 255, G 0, B 0, Hue 0, Sat 240, Lum 120
• 4 R 255, G, 255, B 128, Hue 40, Sat 240, Lum
  180
• 5 R 0, G 0, B 128, Hue 160, Sat 240, Lum 60

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• Method
• The five abstract art stimuli were selected from
  a set of stimuli produced by the course
  instructor and a former student.
• The stimuli were selected to represent a variety
  of abstract styles (available with Paint) and
  background colors.
• All stimuli were produced to be considerably
  wider than they were tall. The ratios were (.653,
  .520, .555, .501, and .555), respectively.
• None of the abstract art stimuli had any obvious
  symmetrical or centered characteristics along the
  horizontal axis.
• The rectangles were versions of the abstract art
  stimuli.

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Results

• No participants were dropped from the analyses.
• As the histogram shows most of the 195 shapes
  produced were close to both the golden and
  platinum ratios.
• However, the mean SS/LS ratio was 0.735 (Median
  .733). Thus, we have some moderate support for
  the platinum ratio. (But what about the shape of
  the monitor?)
• No rectangles could be taller than wide thus
  there are no ratios below the .51 - .60 interval.
  
• Within the limitations of constructing rectangles
  there were no actual squares.

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Results

• Four rectangles were taller than wide and these
  were re-oriented for data analyses.
• The mean ratios for the abstract art and
  rectangular stimuli were .727 and .745,
  respectively. F(1, 179) 1.308, n.s.
• The mean ratios for the left and right cropped
  stimuli were .726 and .746, respectively.
• F(1, 179) 1.607, n.s.
• The mean ratios for the five stimuli were .779,
  .727, .753, .687, and .732, respectively. (Fig.)

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Results

• The three-way split plot Analysis of Variance
  showed that only the ratio differences among the
  five different stimuli was significant.
• F (4,179) 3.856, p .005
• This effect is only marginally interesting since
  the five stimuli were only intended to represent
  different filled shapes.
• No other main effects or interaction effects were
  statistically significant.
• Tukeys HSD showed that the only significant
  comparison for the different pairs of stimuli was
  between 1 Dk Green and 4 Beige.

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