This study examined the ability of human observers to discriminate between symmetric and asymmetric planar figures from perspective and orthographic images. The first experiment showed that the discrimination is reliable in the case of polygons, but not dotted patterns. The second experiment showed that the discrimination is facilitated when the projected symmetry axis or projected symmetry lines are known to the subject. A control experiment showed that the discrimination is more reliable with orthographic, than with perspective images. Based on these results, we formulated a computational model of symmetry detection. The model measures the asymmetry of the presented polygon based on its single orthographic or perspective image. Performance of the model is similar to that of the subjects.