A 2 × 2 design was employed; 70 undergraduates from two classes were exposed to complexity-simplicity and symmetry-asymmetry. Each class showed an overwhelming preference for the complex-symmetrical shapes ( p < .001). Because complexity was preferred only in conjunction with symmetry, the results are considered consistent, in a qualified way, with the notion that naive Ss tend to prefer simplicity.
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Eisenman et al. (1968) studied this question.
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