Preferences in Symmetries and Symmetries in Drawings: Asymmetries between Ages and Sexes

Visual structure in art has been studied by Arnheim 1 and more recently by Leyton 2 who suggests that an analysis of symmetrical structure is fundamental to the understanding of visual structure. Three experiments revealed age and sex differences in symmetry preferences with dot patterns and productions in drawings by children and adults. Asymmetrical patterns were less preferred and seen as less symmetrical with age, while patterns with multiple symmetries 3 showed the opposite effects. Increasingly complex and creative use of symmetries with age were seen in drawings. Greater preference for multiple symmetries in dot patterns by females and more frequent use of bilateral symmetry in drawings by girls and multiple symmetries by women were in contrast to judgments of greater overall symmetry in drawings by males.