Lifestyle and Sense of Symmetry: Exploring One Feature of Mental Development in the Lyuli Children

The paper discusses the issue of the relationship between lifestyle and mental development. With the Lyuli (Central Asian Romani people) children as an example, I explore the impacts of the unsettled way of life on the development of the attitude towards symmetry and asymmetry in childhood. A comparative analysis of the primary school-aged Lyuli children (n=27) and their peers (n=30) studying at comprehensive schools that was conducted using the Barron-Welsh Art Scale suggests it is highly probable that the lifestyle affects the development of the individual’s sense of symmetry. The outcomes show that the unsettled way of life of the Lyuli does not promote unilaterally positive or negative attitude towards symmetry and asymmetry. However, the study revealed that it is far more common for the Lyuli children as compared to their peers from schools to develop attitudes to symmetry or its violation in the environment that are identical in modality. Basing on these facts, I argue that the unsettled way of living has a negative impact upon the child’s ability to develop a differentiated attitude in displaying the sense of symmetry.

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