The Interaction of Openness to Experience and Schizotypy in Predicting Preference for Abstract and Violent Paintings

Abstract

Two studies examined the relationship between a multi-dimensional measure of schizotypy (the minor manifestations of schizophrenic symptoms in non-psychiatric individuals) and preference for paintings and line drawings. Study 1 correlated scores on the four schizotypy scales with seven categories of paintings and the “Origence” measure of figural complexity derived from the Barron-Welsh Art Scale. The strongest correlation was between the schizotypy measure of Impulsive Nonconformity and preference for “violent” paintings. Study 2 divided “violent,” “erotic,” and “religious” categories into “abstract” and “realistic,” and employed measures of sensation seeking and openness to experience as well as the schizotypy scales. Openness was associated with liking for abstract over realistic paintings, and when Openness was kept constant in regression analyses, preference for violent, abstract paintings was positively associated with schizotypy measures of Unusual Experiences and Impulsive Nonconformity and negatively associated with Introvertive Anhedonia. Preference for erotic, abstract paintings was also associated negatively with Introvertive Anhedonia. The results are explained within a theoretical framework including Schubert's (1996) view that aesthetic context leads to a dissociation of negatively emotional information.