Golden Section And Implicit Measure

Golden section is a historical phenomenon in nature, mathematics, arts. In psychology, over 100 years of research from Fechner till now, there still lacks of consistent result among psychologists about golden section's effect on aesthetic pleasure. This research will use reaction time and implicit association test to research its implicit preference.In introduction, it summarizes existing theories and relevant experiments on golden section. Some of the theories confirm the idea, but others do not. It also shows researches inherited from Fechner's standard methods.Experiment 1 uses mathematical and artist definition of golden section in choice reaction time task to investigate its impact on reaction time. Flower and insect pictures are used as rectangle stimuli. Subjects are told to make a judgment about rectangle's shape and location. The result shows golden section shape influences RT while random shape doesn't. Golden section location doesn't' have the same effect.Experiment 2 incorporates figure-ground contrast to investigate the influence of fluency on RT. The result shows golden section influences RT, and fluency influences RT too. But their interaction is not significant.Experiment 3 incorporates implicit association test to investigate the relation between fluency and implicit attitude towards golden section. The result shows golden section's preference is implicit, and is influenced by fluency.We could conclude from the study that,1. Mathematical definition of golden section influences RT but artistic definition doesn't; 2. Preference of golden section is implicit; 3. This effect can be suppressed by fluency.