The aesthetics of rectangle proportion: effects of judgment scale and context

Two experiments examined preference for rectangle proportion, using a method that allowed participants to adjust 1 dimension of a rectangle to achieve the most preferred proportion. Instructing participants to use an interestingness response scale resulted in a preference for rectangles having more extreme sides ratios, compared with pleasingness or preferability scales. Instructing participants to produce a rectangle representing the preferred proportions of a painting or a kitchen tile shifted the preferred sides ratio toward a less extreme value than did a no-context rectangle instruction. Implications of the results for the findings of experiments that seek evidence for the special significance of particular ratios, such as the golden section, are discussed.