THE USE OF FRACTALS FOR THE STUDY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERCEPTION: PSYCHOPHYSICS AND PERSONALITY FACTORS, A BRIEF REPORT

Olga V. Mitina () and Frederick David Abraham ()
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Olga V. Mitina: Department of Psychology, Moscow State University, Raspletin str. h. 15, apt. 77, 123060 Moscow, Russia
Frederick David Abraham: Bluberry Brain Institute, 1396 Gregg Hill Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677, USA;

International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC), 2003, vol. 14, issue 08, 1047-1060

Abstract: The present article deals with perception of time (subjective assessment of temporal intervals), complexity and aesthetic attractiveness of visual objects. The experimental research for construction of functional relations between objective parameters of fractals' complexity (fractal dimension and Lyapunov exponent) and subjective perception of their complexity was conducted. As stimulus material we used the program based on Sprott's algorithms for the generation of fractals and the calculation of their mathematical characteristics. For the research 20 fractals were selected which had different fractal dimensions that varied from 0.52 to 2.36, and the Lyapunov exponent from 0.01 to 0.22. We conducted two experiments: (1) A total of 20 fractals were shown to 93 participants. The fractals were displayed on the screen of a computer for randomly chosen time intervals ranging from 5 to 20 s. For each fractal displayed, the participant responded with a rating of the complexity and attractiveness of the fractal using ten-point scale with an estimate of the duration of the presentation of the stimulus. Each participant also answered the questions of some personality tests (Cattell and others). The main purpose of this experiment was the analysis of the correlation between personal characteristics and subjective perception of complexity, attractiveness, and duration of fractal's presentation. (2) The same 20 fractals were shown to 47 participants as they were forming on the screen of the computer for a fixed interval. Participants also estimated subjective complexity and attractiveness of fractals. The hypothesis on the applicability of the Weber–Fechner law for the perception of time, complexity and subjective attractiveness was confirmed for measures of dynamical properties of fractal images.

Keywords: Complexity; aesthetics; fractal dimension; Lyapunov exponent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003
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DOI: 10.1142/S0129183103005182

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