Beautiful as the chance meeting on a dissecting table of a sewing machine and an umbrella! Individual differences and preference for surrealist literature

Previous studies have suggested that individual psychological differences may shape preferences for broad narrative genres, but these studies have not examined preferences for specific genres. The present study sought to overcome this limitation by examining the individual difference antecedents of preferences for relatively complex surrealist texts. A total of 400 participants rated 10 excerpts of exemplar surrealist texts for liking and familiarity, and they completed measures of the Big Five personality factors, sensation seeking, ambiguity tolerance, and demographics. Results showed that there were small differences in preference for surrealist texts by educational qualifications and annual income, with higher status participants generally showing a stronger preference. Results also showed that, controlling for familiarity, preference for surrealist texts was associated with higher sensation seeking and Openness to Experience. These results are discussed in relation to the extant literature on individual differences and reading patterns and preferences.