In plain sight: implicit priming of patterns and faces using change symmetry.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Information Theory
• Perception Science

Background:

• Aksentijevic-Gibson complexity is a novel measure of change in data.
• Change symmetry (CS) is a generalized palindrome based on changes, not symbols.
• CS patterns exhibit global symmetry that is not locally apparent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the priming effect of change symmetry (CS) on perception.
• To assess if CS can influence the judgment of symmetry in 2D arrays and faces.
• To explore methods for presenting CS to participants, including masked sequences.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 1D patterns with change symmetry (CS) to prime symmetry judgment.
• Applied the lock and key principle to gradually reveal CS patterns.
• Presented rapid sequences of CS to mask individual patterns, emphasizing structural essence.

Main Results:

• Change symmetry (CS) successfully primed the perception of symmetry in 2D arrays.
• CS priming also influenced judgments of facial attractiveness.
• Hidden, higher-level structures of CS were effective in priming perceptual tasks.

Conclusions:

• The Aksentijevic-Gibson complexity measure and its core component, change symmetry (CS), have significant perceptual effects.
• CS serves as a powerful tool for priming symmetry judgments in diverse domains.
• This research highlights the impact of abstract structural information on perception.