Loving art, or not

From Pacific Standard: "Most of us believe taste in art is a deeply personal matter. A particular painting or poem will strike a deep internal chord. It's a lovely idea, but is it really true? What if our partiality to particular artists is, consciously or unconsciously, calibrated to line up with the preferences of our peers — and/or to distinguish ourselves from people we'd rather not be associated with? That's the implication of new research, which finds university students who know little about art are more likely to like paintings if told others like them — or, to a lesser degree, experts in art — rate them highly."