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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Investigating the Effect of Visual Imagery and Learning Shape-Audio Regularities on Bouba and Kiki

Investigating the Effect of Visual Imagery and Learning Shape-Audio Regularities on Bouba and Kiki

Published on: September 13, 2019

Symmetry perception in the blind.

Zaira Cattaneo¹, Micaela Fantino, Juha Silvanto

¹Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy. zaira.cattaneo@unimib.it

Acta Psychologica

|May 7, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Vertical symmetry is highly salient for sighted individuals, but not for those blind from birth. This suggests visual experience is crucial for vertical symmetry

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Visual Perception

Background:

Bilateral mirror symmetry, particularly vertical symmetry, plays a significant role in organizing visual shapes.
The underlying reasons for the prominence of vertical symmetry in visual perception remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if the perceptual salience of vertical symmetry is dependent on visual experience.
To compare the processing of vertical and horizontal symmetry in sighted and congenitally blind individuals.

Main Methods:

A memory task was employed, utilizing symmetry (horizontal or vertical) as an incidental feature.
Congenitally blind and sighted individuals participated in the study.
Performance was assessed by comparing memory accuracy for symmetrical versus non-symmetrical configurations.

Main Results:

Both blind and sighted participants demonstrated superior memory for symmetrical configurations compared to non-symmetrical ones.
Sighted subjects showed greater memory facilitation from vertical symmetry than from horizontal symmetry.
Congenitally blind subjects did not exhibit a differential facilitation between vertical and horizontal symmetry.

Conclusions:

The enhanced perceptual salience of the vertical dimension appears to be visually based.
Visual experience is a critical factor in the development of vertical symmetry preference in perception.
This study provides evidence for the role of vision in shaping the perception of spatial organization.