Engaging With The Arts Is Related To Greater Wellbeing (But It ’s Not Entirely Clear Why)

By Emma Young Social isolation and fears for our family and friends, as well as ourselves, have all affected psychological wellbeing during the COVID-19 lockdown. But being unable to visit an art gallery, theatre or live music venues may also have taken its toll. According to new research by Peter Todderdell at the University of Sheffield and Giulia Poerio at the University Essex, such experiences contribute to wellbeing in a way that watching a sporting event, for example, does not. The pair’s new paper, published in Emotion, presents the first longitudinal examination of the effect of engaging with the “artistic imagination” — rather than actively taking part in an artistic endeavour — on wellbeing. The pair reasoned that exposure to art can affect us in various ways. We might report the “elevating” experiences of feeling awed or inspired, for example. These “eudaimonic” states can contribute to a feeling that our life has meaning, and to a sense of personal growth. Exposure to art might alternatively (or also) generate simpler feelings of pleasure — a hedonic/emotional type of wellbeing. Perhaps it may also help us to view our lives more positively, contributing to life satisfaction. Todderdell and Poerio explored to what extent exposure to various types of art — and the frequency of exposure — might trigger these feelings and influence these aspects of wellbeing. They classified “art” quite broadly, including ev...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Aesthetics Media Mental health Source Type: blogs