The Jungian Psychological Functions Sensing and Intuition and the Preference for Art

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between the Jungian psychological functions Sensing (S) and Intuition (N) and preference for art. It was hypothesized that S-persons would prefer realistic and representational art, where N-persons would like abstract art. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was administered to 179 subjects to assess the preference for either the S- or N-function. Subjects indicated how much they liked 20 painted portraits. The hypothesis was partly confirmed. Not only S-subjects (n = 100) but also N-subjects (n = 79) prefer realistic paintings over abstract ones. On the whole, abstract paintings are valued less than realistic paintings, but N-subjects like abstract paintings more than S-subjects.