你就是你自己
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.
一位朋友邀請你到他的新公寓。他選了一張舊的爵士唱片，你在他那凌亂的屋子裏四處尋找一個坐處。文學和哲學作品在桌子旁堆到了齊腰深。一副畢加索的畫用圖釘釘在牆上。他收藏的外國電影和紀錄片倒在了沒有包裝的盒子的外面。和他居住在一起的狗——你發現在牆的對面——這是一個不同的故事：一副帶框的莫奈貼畫掛在很精緻的牀前；超過40張CD專輯和電視情景劇碟躺在抽屜裏面；一些八卦雜誌被仔細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.
甚至沒有看見他的室友，你就開始打賭這兩個人不會住在一起很長，事實上，你或許是對的。大量的心理學研究揭示出人格特徵和審美觀之間有着緊密的聯繫根據這些調查，爵士愛好者——他們更青睞挑戰書本和抽象藝術——非常有可能成爲性格外向的人，對新鮮事物很熱情。另一方面，超過40名狂熱者對稀奇事物很害羞。儘管由於他喜歡印象派藝術，他很可能是愉快的和認真的。
