The value given to a work of art may depend more on the gender of the appraiser than the beauty of the work, according to a new study.
Men seem to focus more on the artist’s background and authenticity, while women pay more attention to the art itself, says a Michigan State University marketing scholar.
All consumers in the study, but especially men, evaluated art with a strong emphasis on how motivated and passionate the artist was. When the artist was characterized as authentic, participants had a much more favorable impression of both the artist and the artwork. Participants indicated they were more willing to buy that artist’s painting and to pay a higher price for it. Men were much more likely to use the artist’s brand as a deciding factor when evaluating art.
This finding is consistent with prior research that indicates men tend to use factors that are known to them (in this case, the artist’s brand) when making a decision. Women also took the artist’s authenticity into account, but a bigger factor for them was the artwork itself. They are more willing to go through a complicated process of actually evaluating the artwork.
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Source material from Psych Central