The influence of personality traits, previous experience of art, and demographic variables on artistic preference

Abstract

This study is concerned with the factors which determine individual differences in preference for paintings. A model, based on previous findings, was proposed for artistic preference which included personality traits, demographic variables, and previous experience of art. Four distinct styles of paintings (Representational, Abstract, Pop-Art and Japanese traditional) were used to measure preference for art. Participants (101) rated 40 paintings on several rating scales. It was found that conservatism, sex, familiarity and certain measures of prior exposure to art were strongest predictors of preference. The model as a whole accounted for between 16 and 32% of the variance in preference, indicating that other factors were influencing preference. Various links between personality variables and preference found by previous research were not replicated. The concept of preference for, or avoidance of novelty was used to attempt to integrate the findings from this and other studies. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.