Art’s Power: The Magnitude of Its Inspiration
Art has always been known to generate emotion and awe yet it is only recently that research published in The Journal of Positive Psychology demonstrated that art can also increase the sense of meaning in people’s lives. The study discovered that attributing divine properties to, or experiencing high levels of wonderment or attraction towards artworks correlated with increased perceptions of purpose, coherence and significance.
Art and Humanity
As artists put forth their deepest emotions and ideas in their works, they create strong bonds and realizations among their audiences. The researchers were interested in finding out how different psychological experiences such as interest, awe, supernatural attributions for art affect one’s sense of meaning in life.
Aesthetic Cognitivism: Beyond Art Appreciation
The idea behind this research was Aesthetic Cognitivism which holds that art provides not only aesthetic pleasure but cognitive contributions as well. According to this notion, art can reveal new things about individuals thus helping them realize who they are as well as others besides making them have a better understanding about the world.
Exploring the Connection
To investigate how personal experiences with art relate to meaning in life two studies were conducted by the researchers.
Study 1: Diverse Art Experiences
Study 1 involved three separate samples; undergraduates experienced with some kind of artwork (n=100), adults interested in fine arts (n=100) and members from arts schools/arts associations (n=100). Participants completed an online survey assessing their interests in works of fine arts, experiences of awe with supernatural attributes regarding their artistic encounters. Additionally, we measured aspects like aesthetic fluency, religious belief salience along with general life meaningfulness.
Study 2: A Broader Scope
In study 2 an expanded version of the initial work was done on a broad range of online respondents encompassing 1,862 people with varying art backgrounds ranging from formal training to no formal training in art. The same variables were measured using an online survey.
Key Findings: Awe and Meaning
The findings revealed that awe towards artwork was linked to higher levels of life meaning. The relationship was particularly strong for those who had extensive experience with art such as those connected with arts institutions or university art departments.
Interest and Supernatural Attributions
The interest in fine arts and supernatural attributions were related to increased levels of life significance although these associations weakened when other factors like aesthetic fluency and religious belief salience were taken into account.
Significance of Art Expertise
Associations were much stronger for adults interested in arts than individuals coming from arts institutions meaning that the importance attached to these experiences is influenced by one’s involvement and mastery in the field of art.
Psychological Implications
Joshua A. Wilt, the leader of the study, commented that “the way in which a person engages with art could potentially have benefits for meaning in life” (Wilt). Specifically, feeling high levels of awe or interest in art, or perceiving something supernatural happening when interacting with art may be related to greater levels of meaning in life.
Future Research Directions
Despite this correlational nature of the study, no causality can be inferred; therefore future research should employ longitudinal or experimental designs to allow better establishment of the directionality involved. Wilt further noted that “ultimately, I think that this is a starting point for understanding how involvement with art may contribute to more meaningful lives, which could be practically significant, especially in clinical or counseling contexts.”
The Study’s Authors
Joshua A. Wilt wrote an article called “Engagement with art and meaning in life: the predictive roles of awe, interest, supernatural attributions”, along with Julie J. Exline and Aleksandra Sherman and Rebecca J. Schlegel.
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