title: Continuous symmetry: a model for human figural perception.
abstract: Symmetry is usually viewed as a discrete feature: an object is either symmetric or non-symmetric. In this presentation, symmetry is treated as a continuous feature and a continuous measure of symmetry (the Symmetry Distance) is defined. This measure can be easily evaluated for any shape or pattern in any dimension. A preliminary study presented here shows that the Symmetry Distance is commensurate with human perceptual experience. Good correlation is found between the continuous symmetry values and the perceived goodness of figures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zabrodsky
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Algom
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual