What Does Your Taste in Art Say About You?

I read a really interesting article from the website "Psychology Today".
It talks about everyone's difference in taste according to mainly music and art. It claims that there are 4 main different kind of "tastes".

1. The Taste Hunters
2. The Thrill Seekers
3. The Self-medicators
4. Art as Decoration

In a nutshell,
Taste Hunters are those that actively seek out new art. They are "constantly sampling new music, scouring movie reviews for undiscovered gems, and visiting art museums. Their curiosity drives them to explore the world in search of novelty." They also tend to more open to new things because they crave new art.

The Thrill Seekers tend to be lively, active and social people. They love excitement! They tend to be drawn to more lusty or horror movies. They want to connect to people so then tend to be seen at rock concerts, dance clubs and movie theaters.

The Self-medicators are those that use art to tap into their emotions. One self-medicator said "I still listen to a lot of music that's emotional," he says. "I listen to a musician and identify with what he's going through." They tend to be neurotic in that they use art to regulate their moods; if they feels sad they will wallow in sad music, if they feel happy they will be excited with fun music. They also may be easily anxious or sensitive.

Art as decoration users "tend toward figurative art that realistically depicts the things [he/she] enjoys in real life, such as beaches and palm trees. To [them], the purpose of art is to decorate [their] living spaces and keep things looking "aesthetically nice." But [he/she] doesn't seek out, explore, or engage art." Basically, they don't use music or art to tap into emotions or social reasons; it is mainly to make their surroundings better.

The rest of the article explains that "tastes" may not entirely be affected by genetics or explicit forms. Different personalities and intelligences can affect one's taste in art. One's intelligence and ability to think can affect their tastes due to what is comfortable to them (i.e. improv shows, complex music, free verse). Some think on those planes, others don't.

By knowing one's taste in art doesn't necessarily accurately explain one's personality. Some stereotypes are correct. By judging a person based on their interests in art we can understand their openness and extroversion but it does not explain one's emotional stability.

People can have strong bonds between other's of the same taste in music. They understand one another. They can relate on other planes. Yet, the article stresses that we should be more open to other's ideas about art because there can be little room for argument when it comes to taste in art.

"Taste can offer us a doorway into people's lives. Taste reveals a lot about what someone values and needs to fill their life with meaning." -Sam Gosling, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin

What are you?
I'm for sure a good mix of a "Self-Medicator" and "Taste Hunter"