A Personal Perspective on Psychology of Aesthetics and the Arts: Ecologically Valid, Interdisciplinary, and Diverse Methodologies

Abstract

In this invited paper, my aim is to introduce the reader to my body of work by outlining where I think empirical aesthetics, and specifically the study of art, is moving or should be moving toward. I will introduce two main foci of my work: 1) studying art/aesthetics outside of the laboratory and in their “natural habitat,” i.e. doing ecologically valid studies (most commonly in the museum), and 2) methodological aspects of studying art/aesthetic experience in a broad sense: including theory, measurement, and analysis. As future directions, I see a shift toward investigating potential outcomes, as well as ensuring a stronger connection between theory and methodology by incorporating interdisciplinary approaches as well as using more advanced statistical modeling. My aim is to show not just what I have done in the past, but also how this shaped the work that I am currently doing as well as the direction that I see my work developing in and that I believe should be pursued, not just by me but by many others. I chose this format in order to be able to show how I think my work contributes to these developments and can, hopefully, also keep contributing in the future.