Psychological Reporrs, 1979, 45, 787-793. @ Psychological Reports 1979 PREFERENCE FOR PAINTINGS AND PERSONALITY TRAITS JEROME TOBACYK, LOUISE BAILEY, HAL MYERS' Louisiana Tech University Summary.-College students (49 males and 40 females) completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire and performed 5-point preference ratings on 25 slides of paintings. Factor analysis of preference ratings gave seven dimensions of preference that underlay judgments. Eight significant rela- tionships were found between source traits, measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. and dimensions of painting preferences. Support was ob- tained for the notion that preference for paintings is congruent with or expresses the personality traits of the rater. Further studenjs reported greater preference for representational paintings than for abstract paintings, Several researchers have provided support for the notion that preference for paintings is congruent wich or expresses the personality characteristics of the viewer. Knapp and Green (1960) reported that preference for various styles of abstract painting was differentially associated with personality characteristics of the viewer, including values, traits, and interests. Knapp and Wulff ( 1963) reported that preference for abscracc paintings was associated with scores re- flecting intuitive dispositions, with higher scores on verbal and mathematical performance measures, and with reported preference for aesthetic values. Rob- ertoux, Carlier, and Chaguiboff ( 1971) reported the construction of a represen- tational vs non-representational art preference scale. Subjects reporting greater preference for non-representational arc showed higher mean scores on three of the Sixteen Personality Factor Scales (dominance, dependent character, and con- servatism). Juhasz and Paxson (1978) reported a significant positive relation- ship between preference for cubism over surrealism in paintings and internal locus of control. This relationship was predicted from their rationale that pref- erence for cubism (a highly controlled style of painting) should be related to a person's self-report of belief in internal control, while preference for surrealism (a more unconrrolled style) should be associated with an external locus of con- trol. However, findings have not always been positive. Kloss and Dreger (1971) reported few significant relationships between preference for styles of abscract att and scores on the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey. In this two-part investigation we explored ( 1 ) the dimensions used by college students in expressing preferences for paintings and (2) the relation- ship between personality traits, as measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (Cattell, Eber, & Tatsuoka, 1970), and preference for paintings. 'We thank Gary Cawood, Dean Dablow, and Mary Kay Morse of the College of Arr and Architecmre for assistance with this project. W e thank the Lousiana Tech Computing Center for their assistance. Request reprints from the first author, Box 6307, T.S., Louisi- ana Tech University, Ruston, LA 71272.