Attribution of meaning from movement of simple objects

Many researchers claim that attribution of meaning to movement is based prevalently on the properties of the kinetic pattern. Using a constant kinetic pattern, the present study examined the possible influence of shape, size, luminance, and hue of the moving objects on the attribution of meaning. A significant influence of the shape and luminance of the moving objects on the expressivity of the kinetic pattern was found. This influence is probably due to the fact that the kinetic conditions were not unequivocal and specific and so easily influenced by some figural properties. The hue and size of the moving objects seemed instead to have little importance in the attribution of meaning to movement. The need for further investigation to assess the influence of the properties of the kinetic pattern on the perception of a mechanical, intentional, or expressive event is suggested.