This study investigated the role of expertise and personality in reactions to challenges in contemporary paintings, here operationalized as violations in syntax and semantics. Thirty-eight expert and 56 naïve art viewers appraised 20 paintings (divided into four groups, i.e. no violation, only syntactic or semantic violation, and both…

Comparison of 51 artists and 51 nonartists in India found three personality factors (introversion, independence, and tender-mindedness) which, related to working style and creative production of artists, could best differentiate artists from nonartists. These could be predicted from seven other personality factors. (DB)