Is visual aesthetic sensitivity independent from intelligence, personality and creativity?

• We propose new dispositional predictors of visual aesthetic sensitivity.
• General Mental Ability was positively correlated with visual aesthetic sensitivity.
• Figural divergent thinking and openness facets predicted aesthetic sensitivity.
• The results are discussed in the light of recent research on aesthetic experience.

Visual aesthetic sensitivity has been conceived as an intelligence-independent and personality-independent disposition (Frois & Eysenck, 1995). However, recent research suggests that aesthetic experience and its outcomes can be predicted by personality traits (Furnham and Chamorro-Premuzic, 2004, Furnham and Walker, 2001, McCrae, 2007, Rawlings et al., 2000 and Rawlings et al., 2000) and is cognitively facilitated (Leder et al., 2004, Reber et al., 2004, Silvia, 2005, Silvia, 2006 and Smith and Smith, 2006). Following these new findings, three studies (the first ones in France) examined the Visual Aesthetic Sensitivity Test (Götz et al., 1979 and Götz, 1985) on young adult samples (Total N = 345). It was hypothesized that visual aesthetic sensitivity is related to general intelligence (study 1), specific personality traits (study 2) and figural creativity (study 3). The Visual Aesthetic Sensitivity Test was found to be predicted by intelligence (r = .27; p < .01) openness to aesthetics (r = .27; p < .01) and figural divergent thinking (r = .40; p < .001). Implications for further research are discussed.