A friend invites you to his new apartment. As he cues up an old jazz record, you look around his cluttered room for somewhere to sit. Works of literature and philosophy are stacked waist-high next to the desk. Thumbtacks anchor a colorful Picasso print to the wall. His collection of foreign films and documentaries topples out of an unpacked box. His housemate’s digs—which you spy across the hall—are a different story: a framed Monet poster hangs over the neatly made bed; top-40 CD cases and box sets of TV sitcoms line the shelves; carefully arranged gossip magazines fill a nearby rack.

一位朋友邀请你到他的新公寓。他选了一张旧的爵士唱片，你在他那凌乱的屋子里四处寻找一个坐处。文学和哲学作品在桌子旁堆到了齐腰深。一副毕加索的画用图钉钉在墙上。他收藏的外国电影和纪录片倒在了没有包装的盒子的外面。和他居住在一起的狗——你发现在墙的对面——这是一个不同的故事：一副带框的莫奈贴画挂在很精致的床前；超过40张CD专辑和电视情景剧碟躺在抽屉里面；一些八卦杂志被仔细安排在附近的支架上。

Without even meeting the roommate, you are willing to bet that these two won’t live together for long, and, in fact, you are probably right. An increasing number of psychological studies reveal strong associations between personality traits and aesthetic tastes. According to these investigations, the jazz aficionado—who prefers challenging books and abstract art—is more likely to be an extrovert and open to new experiences. The top-40 fan, on the other hand, probably shies away from novelty. Based on his fondness for Impressionist art, though, he is likely to be agreeable and conscientious.

甚至没有看见他的室友，你就开始打赌这两个人不会住在一起很长，事实上，你或许是对的。大量的心理学研究揭示出人格特征和审美观之间有着紧密的联系根据这些调查，爵士爱好者——他们更青睐挑战书本和抽象艺术——非常有可能成为性格外向的人，对新鲜事物很热情。另一方面，超过40名狂热者对稀奇事物很害羞。尽管由于他喜欢印象派艺术，他很可能是愉快的和认真的。