RESEARCH APPROACH
How can experimental psychology enhance real-world art engagement?
My goal is to understand what makes an aesthetic experience successful in real-life settings, so it's important to study these experiences in natural environments. By doing this, psychologists can draw more useful and practical conclusions. But how can this approach also benefit cultural spaces like museums and galleries? I believe that using experimental methods can help these institutions systematically examine and improve their own strategies. This can build a global network for art engagement, allowing experts to share insights and adopt new evaluation methods.
That’s why collaboration is a key part of my research approach. By collaborating closely with my collaborators at Manchester Art Gallery, I ensure that our research not only advances psychological science but also meets the practical needs of our museum partners, evaluating the impacts of their own research spaces such as Room To Breathe. By establishing and maintaining an open dialogue with museum professionals, I prioritise collaboration from the ground up, incorporating the expertise and suggestions of the well-being and curatorial teams in almost every step of my studies, from narrowing down the research question to crafting visitor experience in the space to coproducing stimuli to adapting the outcomes of the subsequent application afterward. In this way, the project starts and ends in the museum.
So how does the pipeline work?
First, I identify the factors that may contribute to an aesthetic experience in the gallery, specifically looking into the practices already being incorporated in such spaces. These have previously included mindfulness-based programming, social interaction, or different types of guided content as we as content delivery form, e.g., a live curator-guided tour vs private audio-guide tour.
Next, I create interventions that manipulate these factors, using expert input to make these as relevant for the institution as possible. For example, with regards to the guided content study, I worked with a curator and well-being practicioner in the gallery to create, record, and deliver the content.
Then, I test if these interventions lead to deeper aesthetic experiences or other short-term and long-term well-being benefits like improved mood, improved understanding, improved social well-being, etc. I use a variety of tools including electronic surveys, audio recordings, physiological readings, and eye-tracking data to examine these impacts.
At the same time, I take into account how personal factors like interest in the arts or personality might affect what participants feel, no matter what kind of activity or intervention I create.
And finally, I work in tandem with the gallery or exhibition designer to implement programming based on my findings.
(Top left) Consenting a participant for a museum study on mindfulness. (Top right) Setting up a participant with a physiological wrist sensor for a study. (Bottom left) Workshopping study procedure with curator Fiona Corridan and study volunteers. (Bottom right) Working with a participant during the mindfulness study.
March 2022, Manchester Art Gallery, UK
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I prioritize creating an enriching and enjoyable experience for participants in my research. My goal is to make them feel like they are engaging in a fun activity rather than merely taking part in a study. By designing studies that blend seamlessly into the gallery environment, I strive to offer pleasant art interactions that leave participants with meaningful memories of their time in the gallery. And this participant-centered approach not only enhances individual experiences but also aligns with the values of the galleries I work with, further fostering mutually beneficial relationships.
In summary, I am deeply committed to enhancing creative contexts, community mental health, and consciousness research through applied scientific methods. Interdisciplinary collaboration is at the core of my work and personal ethos, resulting in more meaningful engagement with both the public and industry partners. One notable initiative is the Crossroads of Research and Experience of Art (CREA) workshop, which I co-founded in 2024 to better bridge the gap between museum professionals and academic psychologists, paving the way for more mutually beneficial collaborations . As I enter the next stage of my academic career, continuing to do postdoctoral research, I am eager to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations to further explore and expand the impact of art engagement on human experience.