{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T03:53:15Z","timestamp":1787629995497,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763596800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763596800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Research Platform Voucher","award":["Radboud University Faculty of Science through the"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Radboud University Faculty of Science through the"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Perception"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>While intuitive for humans, the concept of visual complexity is hard to define and quantify formally. We suggest adopting the multiscale structural complexity (MSSC) measure, an approach that defines structural complexity of an object as the amount of dissimilarities between distinct scales in its hierarchical organization. In this work, we apply MSSC to the case of visual stimuli, using an open dataset of images with subjective complexity scores obtained from human participants (SAVOIAS). We demonstrate that MSSC correlates with subjective complexity on par with other computational complexity measures, while being more intuitive by definition, consistent across categories of images, and easier to compute. We discuss objective and subjective elements inherently present in human perception of complexity and the domains where the two are more likely to diverge. We show how the multiscale nature of MSSC allows further investigation of complexity as it is perceived by humans.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/03010066251384492","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T17:45:16Z","timestamp":1763660716000},"page":"139-158","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Multiscale structural complexity as a quantitative measure of visual complexity"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"55","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8628-0047","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Kravchenko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Radboud University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5036-5476","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrey A","family":"Bagrov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radboud University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mikhail I","family":"Katsnelson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radboud University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6383-8367","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Veronica","family":"Dudarev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of British Columbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2004976117"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-73973-7_35"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/11164-000"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_1","volume-title":"Aesthetics and Psychobiology","author":"Berlyne D. E.","year":"1971","unstructured":"Berlyne D. E. (1971). Aesthetics and Psychobiology. Appleton-Century-Crofts."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/nyas.13667"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4159\/harvard.9780674734470"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/biomet\/39.3-4.324"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-08746-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_1","unstructured":"Burda Y. Edwards H. Pathak D. Storkey A. Darrell T. Efros A. A. (2018). Large-scale study of curiosity-driven learning. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.48550\/ARXIV.1808.04355."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1113\/jphysiol.1968.sp008574"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2184319.2184343"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fss.2008.11.017"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-3445.106.3.269"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-1523.5.2.365"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/34.1000236"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_17_1","volume-title":"100 Artists\u2019 Manifestos","author":"Danchev A.","year":"2011","unstructured":"Danchev A. (2011). 100 Artists\u2019 Manifestos. Penguin Classics, London, England. ISBN 978-0-1411-9179-9."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/03010066231178149"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.132.1.73"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/h0062483"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/20416695241226545"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1348\/000712610X498958"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9781139165495"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Galanter P. (2019). Artificial intelligence and problems in generative art theory. In Electronic workshops in computing. BCS Learning & Development. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.14236\/ewic\/eva2019.22","DOI":"10.14236\/ewic\/EVA2019.22"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1099-0526(199609\/10)2:1<44::AID-CPLX10>3.0.CO;2-X"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRev.95.1300"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/34.16712"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41583-018-0078-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2466\/pms.2002.95.3.755"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03198373"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03207221"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2015.00471"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.11218"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2015.09.010"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00207166808803030"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s41235-023-00501-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_37_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01963207"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_38_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lindeberg T. (2008). Scale-space. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/9780470050118.ecse609.","DOI":"10.1002\/9780470050118.ecse609"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/RevModPhys.45.589"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2015.06.005"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_41_1","unstructured":"Mack M. L. Oliva A. (2004). Computational estimation of visual complexity. The 12th annual object perception attention and memory conference."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2017.02368"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_43_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/9780262514620.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_44_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/nyas.12705"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_45_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1364\/JOSA.69.000095"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_46_1","article-title":"Identifying the perceptual dimensions of visual complexity of scenes","volume":"26","author":"Oliva A.","year":"2004","unstructured":"Oliva A., Mack M. L., Shrestha M., Peeper A. (2004). Identifying the perceptual dimensions of visual complexity of scenes. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 26, 1041\u20131046.","journal-title":"Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_47_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/7131.003.0123"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_48_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Oudeyer P. Y. (2018). Computational theories of curiosity-driven learning. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.48550\/ARXIV.1802.10546.","DOI":"10.31234\/osf.io\/3p8f6"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2024.02.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_50_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Reinecke K. Yeh T. Miratrix L. Mardiko R. Zhao Y. Liu J. Gajos K. Z. (2013). Predicting users\u2019 first impressions of website aesthetics with a quantification of perceived visual complexity and colorfulness. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems CHI \u201913. ACM. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/2470654.2481281","DOI":"10.1145\/2470654.2481281"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_51_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1167\/7.2.17"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_52_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cviu.2020.102949"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_53_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_54_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2015.00514"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_55_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0406664101"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_56_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0001076"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_57_1","unstructured":"Taylor R. P. Spehar B. Clifford C. W. G. Newell B. R. (2008). The visual complexity of pollock\u2019s dripped fractals. https:\/\/api.semanticscholar.org\/CorpusID:749091."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_58_1","unstructured":"Tutorials P. C. V. (2019). Image Fourier transform \/ part 3 (low-pass filter). https:\/\/wsthub.medium.com\/python-computer-vision-tutorials-image-fourier-transform-part-3-e65d10be4492."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_59_1","article-title":"Curiosity-based learning in infants: A neurocomputational approach","volume":"21","author":"Twomey K. E.","year":"2017","unstructured":"Twomey K. E., Westermann G. (2017). Curiosity-based learning in infants: A neurocomputational approach. Developmental Science, 21, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/desc.12629","journal-title":"Developmental Science"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_60_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/bs.3830110204"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_61_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1807890115"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_62_1","unstructured":"Wolpert D. H. Macready W. G. (1997). Self-dissimilarity: An empirical measure of complexity. http:\/\/sfi-edu.s3.amazonaws.com\/sfi-edu\/production\/uploads\/sfi-com\/dev\/uploads\/filer\/53\/48\/5348ab75-bc23-4712-8b4f-3e473c23d32a\/97-12-087.pdf."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_63_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/cplx.20165"}],"container-title":["Perception"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/03010066251384492","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/03010066251384492","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/03010066251384492","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T18:29:28Z","timestamp":1777660168000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/03010066251384492"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]]},"references-count":62,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/03010066251384492"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/03010066251384492","relation":{},"ISSN":["0301-0066","1468-4233"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0301-0066","type":"print"},{"value":"1468-4233","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]]}}}