At first the form of these little
cards was changed: triangles, squares, and circles were tried. Or the
color was changed: light and dark, saturated and unsaturated colors
were used. Or the order was varied: sometimes the little cards lay in
regular rows, sometimes in close clusters, sometimes widely
distributed, sometimes in quite irregular fashion. Or the background
was changed, or the surrounding frame, or the time of exposure, and so
on. Each time the subjects had to estimate whether the second group
was the larger or equal or the smaller. These experiments indicated
that such comparative estimation was indeed influenced by every one of
the factors mentioned. If the experiments show that an irregular
distribution makes the number appear larger or a close clustering
reduces the apparent number, and so on, the business man would be
quite able to profit from such knowledge. The jeweler who shows his
rings and watches in his window wishes to produce with his small stock
the impression of an ample supply. He lacks the psychology which might
teach him whether he would act more wisely in having the rings and the
watches separated, or whether he should mix the two, whether he ought
to choose a background which is similar in color or one which
contrasts with the pieces exhibited, whether he ought to present the
single object in a special background as in a case, or to show it
without one.
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