{"title":"Effects of an Art Intervention Program Using Ambiguous Image-Text Interactions on Creative Thinking","authors":"Vered Heruti, N. Mashal","doi":"10.1177/02762374231215736","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231215736","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined whether creative thinking improves by utilizing an intervention program based on three types of ambiguous image-text interactions within artwork: (1) ambiguous text, (2) negation, and (3) semantically unrelated image-text. Participants (79) were divided into three groups: “ambiguous-negation-unrelated” group exposed to stimuli 1 + 2 + 3, “ambiguous-unrelated” group exposed to stimuli 1 + 3, and the control group unexposed to any intervention. The metaphor generation test (MGT) and Tel-Aviv creative test (TACT) were given pre- and post-intervention. The results showed the “ambiguous-negation-unrelated” intervention group scored higher on the TACT post-intervention, as compared to pre-intervention, a finding not observed among the “ambiguous-unrelated” and control groups. Furthermore, both art intervention groups generated more utterances overall (literal, conventional, and novel metaphors) in the MGT post-intervention, as compared to pre-intervention. These outcomes suggest this artwork intervention that utilized ambiguous image-text interactions and included theoretical discussion and reflective analysis can enhance divergent thinking.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139260478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Oscars won by the Best Picture of the Year: An Empirical Analysis Across the History of Academy Awards (1929–2023)","authors":"Miguel Saraiva","doi":"10.1177/02762374231212136","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231212136","url":null,"abstract":"Since 1929, 95 films have been crowned the Best Picture of the Year. Scholars and cinephiles yearly debate their merits and the legitimacy of one winning over the other, and extensive coverage is given by the media to the spectacle itself. But research is generally restricted to prediction models, or correlations with the winners’ demographic variables. There have been few historical studies on the evolution of the concept of Best Picture throughout the ceremonies, measured through the number of nominations and Oscars won in the various categories. Using descriptive statistics and cluster analysis, this article traces that history, showing that such concept has changed with the decades, although it has a relatively cyclic nature. Today, the Best Picture is no longer the most nominated or awarded, and has a diminishing association to Best Director and technical categories. Instead, it is more thematically conscious (Best Screenplay), and favors actresses and supporting players.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"53 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135774590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emotion, Language and Aesthetic Expression: On Motherwell and His Art","authors":"Anjan Chatterjee","doi":"10.1177/02762374231208320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231208320","url":null,"abstract":"Robert Motherwell is regarded as one of the great American abstract expressionists. He was highly intelligent and articulate about his art. In this essay, I explore the thesis that the ability to make fine category discriminations, which can be indexed by language, is necessary to produce great art. I argue that Motherwell might not have been as great an artist if he were not so articulate. Relying on a constructivist view, I argue that fine-grained categories of human emotions can be represented in language; language carves out affective space in a way that makes these states explicit and easier to communicate. Ineffability in art implies exhausting the effable. Being articulate about emotions allows one to reach for higher states of ineffability and aspire to great art.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136135080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Dance Expertise Enhance Sensitivity? A Comparative Study","authors":"Anna Izountouemoi, Francisco Esteves","doi":"10.1177/02762374231206720","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231206720","url":null,"abstract":"The overall aim was to study the impact of dance expertise in relation to emotional expressivity and emotional sensitivity, by comparing dance experts and nonexperts. The results are based on a survey answered by 120 individuals, consisting of the Berkeley Emotional Expressivity Questionnaire (BEQ) and the Emotional Sensitivity Questionnaire (ESS). Dance experts in comparison to nonexperts scored higher on ESS, more specifically, other-directed sensitivity, that is, the positive interpersonal sensitivity subscale. No significant differences were obtained on negative egocentric sensitivity, the other subscale of ESS, and neither regarding emotional expressivity. However, it was found that those with more frequent dance habits scored higher on the Impulse Strength subscale of the BEQ. Our findings point out the relationship between dance and our ability to perceive emotions, which could have interesting educational and clinical implications. Lastly, we discuss current and future perspectives on the topic.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"2 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134902394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Literary and Aesthetic Competencies in Literature Course: Whether Innovative Information Technologies Hinder Their Growth?","authors":"Nanxi Xiahou","doi":"10.1177/02762374231204554","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231204554","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is (1) to determine the set of literary and aesthetic competencies when reading literature and (2) to quantify the possible effect for the formation of Literary and Aesthetic competence when using innovative information technologies. The establishment of the array of literary and aesthetic competencies was achieved through the synthesis of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2018) and a comprehensive analysis of relevant scholarly literature. The researchers determined the substantial effect of mobile applications in building three out of five aesthetic competencies ( D = 1.12 for expressive perception, D = 1.55 for emotional closeness and D = 0.82 for cognitive elaboration). Hence, based on the research outcomes, the approach adopted by the experimental group (utilisation of mobile applications for reading) facilitates the attainment of heightened literary competence through a more aesthetically comprehensive experiential engagement with the study of literary works.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135695981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How Do We Understand Artworks? Exploring the Role of Artwork Inherent Features in Art Processing","authors":"Eva Specker, Maximilian Douda, Helmut Leder","doi":"10.1177/02762374231201074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231201074","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding an artwork is essential for aesthetic experiences. But how does one form an understanding of art? To investigate this still poorly addressed process, we hypothesized that the easier a stimulus is processed (i.e., higher fluency), the easier it should be understood. We focused on artwork inherent features (i.e., style and content) and their interactions affect processing. Making use of the brightness–positivity association, the overall brightness of paintings (i.e., as stylistic feature) was manipulated to match their content (positive vs. negative). We hypothesized that a congruency of style and content would facilitate the processing of paintings resulting in a better understanding, but also, greater liking, and (exploratively) higher artistic value. Our data indicated no congruency effects between brightness and content, but that content alone was a strong predictor for art processing and—in an exploratory approach—highlighted the importance of individual differences in terms of art interest and knowledge in our sample.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"233 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135307113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rocío Riestra-Camacho, James Carney, Emily Troscianko
{"title":"Can Narrative Bibliotherapy Reduce Vulnerability to Eating Disorders? Evidence from a Reading Experiment","authors":"Rocío Riestra-Camacho, James Carney, Emily Troscianko","doi":"10.1177/02762374231196404","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231196404","url":null,"abstract":"No research has yet experimentally evaluated the role of narrative fiction in relation to eating disorders (EDs). This study used a between-participants design to assess vulnerability to EDs before and after reading two contemporary U.S. young adult sports novels. ED vulnerability was measured using the EAT-26 and a tailored questionnaire. The experimental group ( n = 32) received the books with text-specific reading guides. The control group ( n = 33) received only the novels. Our hypothesis was that post-reading measures would be lower (improved) in both groups, but more markedly in the experimental group. Scores were typically lower in the experimental group and higher in the control group, but these differences were not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons. These findings underline the need to expand empirical evidence on the effects of narrative reading in the context of EDs, while the innovative methods trialed here open up new methodological avenues.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135884198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do American Critic Reviews Affect Film Consumption Abroad? The Brazilian Case","authors":"Marislei Nishijima, T. Souza","doi":"10.1177/02762374231196836","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231196836","url":null,"abstract":"The Brazilian film market consists mainly of American films; most of these films are released after their release in the United States, while a few are released before or simultaneously. The recent rapid developments in information and communication technology (ICT) changed film-showing technology to a digital model, improving the possibility of simultaneous worldwide releases. ICT evolution also allowed Brazilian moviegoers to access American critic reviews in real time. We explore this scenario to study whether American critic reviews influence film consumption at theaters in Brazil. We employ regression analysis using data from 1,600 films exhibited in the country between 2007 and 2018 collected from Box Office Mojo and Rotten Tomatoes websites. Controlling for endogeneity problems, we documented a prediction effect of expert reviews on gapped film releases but not an influence effect on simultaneous releases, which correspond to the wide film releases in the United States.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48172797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Visiting Virtual Museums: How Personality and Art-Related Individual Differences Shape Visitor Behavior in an Online Virtual Gallery","authors":"Rebekah M. Rodriguez-Boerwinkle, P. Silvia","doi":"10.1177/02762374231196491","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231196491","url":null,"abstract":"The present study explored how personality shapes encounters with art within a virtual art gallery. An online sample of 264 adults completed questionnaires before freely wandering around a virtual gallery, which spanned three rooms and contained 24 artworks (half abstract, half representational) of various sizes and genres. We examined how the Big Five personality traits, aesthetic fluency, and aesthetic responsiveness predicted visit behavior: overall visit time, distance traveled in the gallery, the proportion of time spent viewing artwork, and how long and from what distance people viewed each individual artwork. Openness to experience had widespread effects on virtual visit behaviors, followed by extraversion, and variation in artwork features (area and abstraction) predicted viewing time and distance for individual artworks. We discuss how virtual galleries may contribute to understanding both traditional museum visitors and the emerging study of online virtual visitors.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43652429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anthony Chmiel, F. Kiernan, Hernán D. Ramallo, J. Davidson
{"title":"Musical Activity as Avoidance-Based Emotion Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence Across Continents","authors":"Anthony Chmiel, F. Kiernan, Hernán D. Ramallo, J. Davidson","doi":"10.1177/02762374231196083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231196083","url":null,"abstract":"Argentina and Australia endured among the most severe COVID-19 lockdowns globally. This study examined which artistic creative activities (ACAs) Argentinians in the Buenos Aries region used to support their mental health and wellbeing and compared these findings with existing data for Australians (primarily from Victoria) across a similar period. Adult Argentinians ( N = 86) responded to an online survey regarding 27 listed ACAs, as well as ratings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. While “watching films and television” was the most commonly reported ACA, it was not rated as effective in supporting mental health and wellbeing. Conversely, musical ACAs were ranked highest. We consider evidence from Australia, North America, and South America that musical ACAs (especially music listening) have been most effective at supporting mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic by way of avoidance-based emotion regulation. We also conclude from the data that Argentinians tended to place greater importance on music-based ACAs than Australians.","PeriodicalId":45870,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Studies of the Arts","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41450511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}