Art Judgment: A Measure Related to Both Personality and Intelligence?

Abstract

The link between personality (Big Five and typical intellectual engagement) and intelligence (Wonderlic and Raven scores) with a measure of art judgment was examined in a sample of 102 university students. Participants' art interests were also assessed through a self-report inventory of art experience, art activities, and particular painting style recognition. Regression analyses revealed that Openness and typical intellectual engagement were significantly and positively related to art interests, but not to art judgment scores. Personality traits accounted for 22% of the variance in art interests (whereas intelligence accounted for 4%). On the other hand, art interests were significantly related to art judgment scores (people who reported higher interests in arts tended to score significantly higher on art judgment and vice-versa). Art judgment was significantly related to both personality (low Extraversion and Conscientiousness) and intelligence (high IQ). When combined, personality and intelligence accounted for almost 25% of the variance in art judgment scores. These findings replicate recent studies on art judgment, suggesting that the measure is related to both personality and intelligence.