_Symmetry:_ In the previous experiment, three subjects had insisted on
symmetry as a necessary attribute both of the unit and its alternate.
U. (spatial type) described his experience as "a succession of
symmetrical experiences or states of equilibrium; when they are not so,
they must be regrouped, or pleasure is impossible." R. (temporal type)
insisted especially on the necessity of the alternate figure being
symmetrical as regards the major units, _i. e._, halfway between them;
and also on symmetry as regards itself. One temporal subject said
there was some pleasure in merely going from one unit to the next, even
though no repose was possible on each because of its asymmetry. This
suggested experiments on the importance of symmetry in repeated series.
Is it necessary that the separate elements of a series be symmetrical?
Must both major and minor element be symmetrical? Does this necessity
vary according to the temporal or spatial type of the subject, _i. e._,
is it more necessary to the spatial type, whose pleasure depends more
on repose in the unit, than to the temporal type, whose enjoyment rests
mainly in the rhythm of movement from one unit to the next? Or is it a
common demand? This experiment was begun in the following simple way.
The strings were hung in two group-forms; one with three and the other
with four.
[Illustration: Fig. 11]
This was a symmetrical grouping and uniformly pleasant. The series was
then changed by removing the second string in the four-group, thereby
making it unsymmetrical.
[Illustration: Fig. 12]
This change made the repetition less pleasant in every case, but did
not spoil it. Instead of the four-groups becoming more prominent they
seemed less so, and the three-group on account of its "compactness"
became in most cases the major element, thereby shifting the balance
of the repetition, but not detracting very much from the pleasure.
Next the three-group was changed by moving the middle string to the
left. By this means the group which had been minor in Fig. 11, became
unsymmetrical, while the four-group was regular.
[Illustration: Fig. 13]
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