title: 'Beauty is no quality in things themselves': epistemic motivation affects implicit preferences for art.
abstract: Art preferences are affected by a number of subjective factors. This paper reports two studies which investigated whether need for closure shapes implicit art preferences. It was predicted that higher need for closure would negatively affect implicit preferences for abstract art. In study one, 60 participants were tested for dispositional need for closure and then completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) task to measure their implicit preference for abstract (vs. figurative) paintings. In study two, 54 participants completed the same IAT task. In this experiment need for closure was both manipulated by cognitive load and tapped as a dispositional trait. Results of the studies converged in showing that after controlling for other important individual factors such as participants'expertise and cognitive ability, need for closure, both as a dispositional trait and as a situationally induced motivational state, was negatively associated with implicit preference for abstract art.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chirumbolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ambra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brizi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cultural and Educational Studies, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mastandrea
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mannetti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001154:Art; D001504:Beauty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D055815:Young Adult