Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
Objectives: This study aimed to (1) determine if fractal dimension represented a cue which maps
onto some basic human desires: a healthy environment, the presence of water, and a sense of
spirituality; (2) understand relationships between the fractal dimension of visual scenes, human
physiological responses to such scenes and self-reported preference for a visual environment.
Method: In Phase 1, fractal dimension of the treeline/sky silhouette was calculated for images in 3
categories: depth of underground water levels, (ii) perception of the site as being sacred or
secular, and (iii) the surveyed biodiversity (species richness) of the areas within which an image
was taken. In Phase 2, 50 unselected participants viewed and preference-ranked sets of images
from the 3 categories while their skin conductance responses (SCR) were recorded.
Results: Phase 1 showed no significant difference between “sacred” vs “secular” sites and fractal
dimension (W=174, N=40, p=0.25). Differences for water-depth were close to significance (shallow
vs deep : W=23, N=18, p=0.07) and for biodiversity sites were significant (high vs low: W=25, N=40,
p=1.34x10-7). Phase 2 showed a significant negative relationship (r = -0.11, p = 0.03) between
participant SCR magnitude and fractal dimension, and a positive correlation between expressed
preference and fractal dimension (rho = 0.61, p= 0.03).
Conclusions: Results support the idea that visual complexity of a scene (known to influence
preference) relates both to useful information about a site (water depth and biodiversity) and to
our level of arousal upon seeing that site.
Discussion: This study gives the first supporting evidence for the idea that humans have an ability
to recognise and prefer environments that are ecologically healthy (biodiverse and having a nearto-
surface water table). As water depth showed a negative correlation to fractal dimension, which
showed a negative correlation related to skin conductance response, near-to-surface water should
show a relaxation response that could be expressed via ideomotor action, suggesting that visual
factors in dowsing studies might be a useful area to pursue.
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