Abstract

In the history of aesthetics, the concept of unity-in-variety is the most frequently used definition of beauty. However, the exact meaning of the term remains a matter of debate. The purpose of this thesis was to explore unity-in-variety in a comprehensive manner. The following three main issues were explored: the relationship between unity and variety, the relationship between unity-in-variety and aesthetic appreciation, and the visual processes that contribute to the perception of unity. ;Five experiments were conducted in which a range of stimuli were used. The stimuli were simple geometric designs on white cards, slides of various starfish, and slides of paintings from different artistic periods. All stimuli were presented under normal viewing conditions with the exception of one experiment in which slides of paintings were blurred at different levels. ;The results indicated the following: unity and variety are inversely related, unity is positively correlated with aesthetic appreciation, but variety is negatively correlated, and the processing of low spatial frequencies contributes to the perception of order in a pattern and to pre-attentive aesethetic judgments. ;It was concluded that the concept of unity-in-variety is closely related to Boselie & Leeuwenberg's concept of "hidden order" that is not immediately apparent. Hidden order refers to order or unity in a stimulus pattern. All patterns, simple or complex, are composed of different levels of structure, and these levels best exemplify the meaning of unity-in-variety.