That's Just Your Point of View: How Visuospatial Biases and Functional Lateralization Influence the Way We Perceive the World
type: CreativeWork
description: How can individual differences in visuospatial attention and other lateralized functions affect the perception of one’s environment? This research question was examined through the four studies which comprise this dissertation. Studies 1 and 2 examined how visuospatial biases (and other lateralized attributes) influence the perception of paintings, Study 3 examined how these factors influence how paintings are created, and Study 4 examined how visuospatial biases themselves can be influenced by the perception and processing of other lateralized attributes. For all studies, biases in visuospatial attention were measured using the line bisection task. In Study 1, participants rated asymmetrical paintings on evocative impact, aesthetics, technique, novelty, and closure. These ratings were made for paintings in their original orientation, as well as in a mirror-reversed orientation. Leftward bisectors tended to give higher ratings to paintings when they were non-mirrored, whereas rightward bisectors more often gave higher ratings to paintings when they were mirrored. These results suggest that line bisection performance reflects individual differences in visuospatial attention, which in turn affects perception of asymmetrical paintings. However, because most of the attributes examined in Study 1 are typically associated with right hemisphere processing (as is visuospatial attention), individual differences in laterality underlying the processing of the attributes may have also impacted the results. Thus, in Study 2 the influence of visuospatial attention on painting perception was further explored using attributes typically associated with left hemisphere processing (logic, positive valence) and other attributes typically associated with right hemisphere processing and/or ii leftward asymmetries in art (negative valence, brightness), in addition to reexamining the attributes from Study 1 using a new forced-choice methodology. Results showed that leftward bisectors more …
abstract: How can individual differences in visuospatial attention and other lateralized functions affect the perception of one’s environment? This research question was examined through the four studies which comprise this dissertation. Studies 1 and 2 examined how visuospatial biases (and other lateralized attributes) influence the perception of paintings, Study 3 examined how these factors influence how paintings are created, and Study 4 examined how visuospatial biases themselves can be influenced by the perception and processing of other lateralized attributes. For all studies, biases in visuospatial attention were measured using the line bisection task. In Study 1, participants rated asymmetrical paintings on evocative impact, aesthetics, technique, novelty, and closure. These ratings were made for paintings in their original orientation, as well as in a mirror-reversed orientation. Leftward bisectors tended to give higher ratings to paintings when they were non-mirrored, whereas rightward bisectors more often gave higher ratings to paintings when they were mirrored. These results suggest that line bisection performance reflects individual differences in visuospatial attention, which in turn affects perception of asymmetrical paintings. However, because most of the attributes examined in Study 1 are typically associated with right hemisphere processing (as is visuospatial attention), individual differences in laterality underlying the processing of the attributes may have also impacted the results. Thus, in Study 2 the influence of visuospatial attention on painting perception was further explored using attributes typically associated with left hemisphere processing (logic, positive valence) and other attributes typically associated with right hemisphere processing and/or ii leftward asymmetries in art (negative valence, brightness), in addition to reexamining the attributes from Study 1 using a new forced-choice methodology. Results showed that leftward bisectors more …
author: Hatin, Bianca Dominique Marie
language: en
date published: 2017-07
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:03:39Z
provider: University of Regina
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10294/7847

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.82465/4534