Abstract
Letter pairs made from the letters F, G, J, L, and R in normal, reversed, or inverted orientations were used as stimuli in a name-matching experiment. When the same letter was used twice to form a pair, the different orientation combinations produced four types of symmetry: rotational, vertical axis bilateral, and translational symmetry, and a distorted version of horizontal axis bilateral symmetry. The pattern of results suggests that symmetry was used as a “diagnostic” when the presence or absence of symmetry was easily detected (same-letter stimuli with vertical axis bilateral and translational symmetry, and all different-letter stimuli) and that letter names were matched only for those pairs whose symmetry was not easily assessed (same-letter stimuli with horizontal axis bilateral and rotational symmetry).
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Hershenson, M., & Ryder, J. Perceived symmetry and visual matching. Manuscript submitted for publication, 1981.
Rosen, K., & Hershenson, M. A test of the two-stage model of matching using “global” and “serial” configurations. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Hartford, Conn., April 1980.
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Hershenson, M., Ryder, J. Perceived symmetry and name matching. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 19, 19–22 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330028
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330028