ARTICLE

Volume 8,Issue 8

All Issues
Submit to SSR
Cite this article
0
Views
6 June 2025
Research on the Composition Mechanism of the Golden Ratio: Aesthetic Processing of Visual Balance
Sufang Li
Show Less
1 Department of Design, Hansei University, Gunpo 15852, Republic of Korea,
ssr 2025 , 7(5), 188–194; https://doi.org/10.26689/ssr.v7i5.10737
Download PDF
Cite
XML
HTML
Abstract

Does the golden ratio in composition bring about visual balance and aesthetic pleasure? What are its underlying mechanisms? This study explores composition and aesthetic preferences, suggesting that visual balance is dynamic and subjective in nature. The physiological structure of human vision, particularly the dominance of one eye, leads to visual field imbalance during aesthetic appreciation. As a result, the subjective center of balance in an image often aligns with the golden ratio point. The mechanism of aesthetic processing in visual perception contributes to the construction of subjective visual balance, and the visual stimulus generated by golden ratio composition may influence this aesthetic processing. Therefore, the aesthetic processing of visual balance can help explain the mechanism underlying the golden ratio in composition.

References
Akhtaruzzaman M, Shafie AA, 2012, Geometrical Substantiation of Phi, the Golden Ratio and the Baroque of Nature, Architecture, Design and Engineering. The Artist and Journal of Home Culture, 2012(1): 1–22.
Page T, Thorsteinsson G, Ha JG, 2010, Natural Sections in Product Design. International Journal of Contents, 2010(6): 71–82.
Fischler RS, 1981, On the Application of the Golden Ratio in the Visual Arts. Leonardo, 1981(14): 31–32.
De Bartolo D, De Luca M, Antonucci G, et al., 2021, The Golden Ratio as an Ecological Affordance Leading to Aesthetic Attractiveness. Psych Journal, 2021(11): 729–740.
McManus IC, Stover K, Kim D, 2011, Arnheim’s Gestalt Theory of Visual Balance: Examining the Compositional Structure of Art Photographs and Abstract Images. I-Perception, 2(6): 615–647.
Armheim R, 1972, Art and Visual Perception. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Arnheim R, 1988, The Power of the Center. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Arnheim R, 1954, Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Palmer SE, Gardner JS, Wickens TD, 2008, Aesthetic Issues in Spatial Composition: Effects of Position and Direction on Framing Single Objects. Spatial Vision, 21(3): 421.
Palmer SE, Guidi S, 2011, Mapping the Perceptual Structure of Rectangles through Goodness-of-fit Ratings. Perception, 40(12): 1428–1446.
Tyler CW, 2007, Some Principles of Spatial Organization in Art. Spatial vision, 20(6): 509–530.
Porac C, Coren S, 1976, The Dominant Eye. Psychological Bulletin, 83(5): 880–897.
Dieter KC, Blake R, 2015, Sensory Eye Dominance Varies within the Visual Field. Journal of Vision, 15(12): 268.
Curcio CA, Sloan KR, Kalina RE, et al., 1990, Human Photoreceptor Topography. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 292(4): 497–523.
Larnicol S, 1995, Étude de L’organisation du Champ Perceptifenfonction des Données Configurationnelles du Stimulus et analysephysiologique des Principes Pouvantl’expliquer, thesis, Paris.
Doorn AJ, Ridder HD, Koenderink JJ, 2013, Picture Perception and Visual Field. Proceedings of the SPIE 8651, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XVIII, 865119.
Zhang P, Bobier WR, Thompson B, et al., 2011, Binocular Balance in Normal Vision and Its Modulation by Mean Luminance. Optometry and Vision Science, 2011(88): 1072–1079.
Locher PJ, Gray SL, Nodine CF, 1996, The Structural Framework of Pictorial Balance. Perception, 1996(25): 1419–1436.
Nodine CF, Carmody DP, Kundel HL, 1978, Searching for NINA, in Eye Movements and the Higher Psychological Functions. Hillsdale, New Jersey, 241–258.
Dondis DA, 1973, A Primer of Visual Literacy. M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, 27.
Leavitt JA, 2021, Neuro-ophthalmology: Visual Fields. Mayo Clinic Neurology Board Review.
Psotka J, Lewis SA, King D, 1998, Effects of Field of View on Judgments of Self-Location: Distortions in Distance Estimations Even When the Image Geometry Exactly Fits the Field of View. Presence, 1998(7): 352–369.
Simpson DA, Crompton JL, 2008, The Visual Fields: An Interdisciplinary History I. The Evolution of Knowledge. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 2008(15): 101–110.
Rolke B, Stepper MY, Seibold VC, et al., 2019, Aesthetic Stimuli Attract Visual Spatial Attention. Art & Perception, 7(1): 1–30.
Yang GZ, Dempere-Marco L, Hu XP, et al., 2002, Visual Search: Psychophysical Models and Practical Applications. Image and Vision Computing, 20(4): 291–305.
Tyler CW, 1997, One Eye is Usually Centred Horizontally (and near the Golden Section Vertically) in Portraits over the Past 500 Years. Perception, 1997(26): 18.
Di Dio C, Macaluso E, Rizzolatti G, 2007, The Golden Beauty: Brain Response to Classical and Renaissance Sculptures. PloS one, 2(11): e1201.
Graf LK, Landwehr JR, 2015, A Dual-process Perspective on Fluency-based Aesthetics: The Pleasure-interest Model of Aesthetic Liking. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(4): 395–410.
Graf LK, Landwehr JR, 2017, Aesthetic Pleasure Versus Aesthetic Interest: The Two Routes to Aesthetic Liking. Frontiers in Psychology, 2017(8): 15.
Molnar F, 1981, About the Role of Visual Exploration in Aesthetics, in Advances in Intrinsic Motivation and Aesthetics. Plenum, New York, 385–413.
Kaspar K, König P, 2011, Viewing Behavior and the Impact of low-level Image Properties across Repeated Presentations of Complex Scenes. Journal of Vision, 11(13): 26.
Lewis A, Garcia R, Zhaoping L, 2003, The Distribution of Visual Objects on the Retina: Connecting Eye Movements and Cone Distributions. Journal of Vision, 3(11): 893–905.
Share
Back to top
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here
Accept