Rectangles of different ratios between the lengths of their sides were presented in three ranges -- with the 'golden section' either (a) the next to most elongated rectangle, (b) the middle rectangle, or (c) the next to shortest rectangle -- and the first and subsequent choices of three groups of subjects (each N = 29 males and 26 females) noted. The rectangles at both extremes of each range were most often chosen first and those at or near the middle of each range least often, while the mean preference ratings when the golden section was the middle rectangle fell at midpoint, thereby replicating earlier findings. The conclusion is that preference for the golden section is an artifact of its position in the range of stimuli presented and of the measures of preference rather than of any intrinsic aesthetic quality.