Reading habits influence aesthetic preference

The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which aesthetic preference, previously attributed to cerebral dominance, may be determined by reading habits. One hundred and sixty two normal subjects were presente d pairs of images, one being the mirror-image of the other, and were asked for their aesthetic preference. Half of the subjects were left-to-right rea ders (French subjects) and the other half were right-to-left readers (Israe li subjects). We found a significant effect of reading habits on aesthetic preference, with left-to-right readers showing a preference for stimuli wit h a rightward directionality while right-to-left readers preferred stimuli with a leftward directionality. These findings raise the question of an int eraction between cultural factors and cerebral dominance. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.