Fractal dimension of landscape silhouette outlines as a predictor of landscape preference

The aim of this study was to explore the suggestion that fractal characteristics may play a role in aesthetic experiences by providing possible empirical evidence for connections between landscape preference and fractal properties. This approach was motivated by the knowledge that many natural forms are fractal and that, in preference research, naturalness has been found an important predictor. For reasons described in the paper, in this study we chose to focus on landscape silhouette outlines. The results indicate that there is a relationship between preference and the fractal dimension, which in turn gives rise to the hypothesis that the fractal dimension could provide part of the explanation to the well-documented connection between preference and naturalness. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.