Department of Basic Psychological Research and

Department of
Basic Psychological Research
and Research Methods
The experience of art in the museum
David Brieber
Cognitive Science Research Platform
University of Vienna, Austria
Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods
University of Vienna, Austria
Although the laboratory is a common context for psychological research on art, the
museum context is a common context for encountering art. Art museums are
environments especially designed for a focused, reflective, and multi-sensory
experience. They highlight the objects’ artistic status and foster the adoption of an
aesthetic orientation. Do differences between the laboratory and museum contexts
lead to differences in how people experience and behave towards art?
In a series of studies, we addressed this question by using different measurement
techniques and research designs. Our results showed that art experience is
enhanced in the museum. Compared to the laboratory, people in the museum liked
artworks more, found them more interesting, and felt more emotionally positive and
aroused. Moreover, people in the museum remembered almost twice as many
artworks as people in the laboratory. Differences in art experience between the
museum and laboratory were also accompanied by differences in viewing behavior.
On average, people in the museum spent more time viewing art than people in the
laboratory. In both contexts, however, viewing time was positively related with art
appreciation: the more people liked an artwork, the longer they looked at it.
Interestingly, the strength of the relationship between viewing time and the
experience of art was partly modulated by context.
Our research demonstrates that there is a difference between the museum and the
laboratory in how people enjoy and approach art. Future research should
concentrate on the mechanisms underlying this museum enhancement effect and its
generalizability. Our data suggests that there are certain limitations to this effect
associated with the beholder’s level of art expertise, the style of artworks and the
narrative structure of the art exhibition.
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Department of
Basic Psychological Research
and Research Methods
Comparing visitors’ experience in
museums of different art styles in a
National and International perspective
Stefano Mastandrea, Fridanna Maricchiolo, Giuseppe Carrus
Department of Education
University of Rome Tre, Italy
The talk will present some researches conducted in the museum field which aimed
to study visitors’ experience in national and international contexts.
The first line of research includes some studies that compared the visitors’
experience and personality traits in museums of different art styles (ancient vs.
modern art). Results showed that visitors of ancient art museum conducted their
visits with motivation for, expectations of, and interests in acquiring understanding
and knowledge, thereby referring to a more general kind of cognitive approach. The
approach to the works in the collection of the modern art visitor was primarily
emotional and pleasure-seeking. Visitors of modern art museum showed also higher
levels in the Zuckerman Sensation seeking trait. Moreover, art museum can be
considered restorative settings: the visit to a figurative art collection reduces the
level of blood pressure more than the visit to abstract/modern artworks.
The second line of research refers to an international research project (conducted in
different countries of four continents) which aimed to investigate several
psychological and pedagogical features like personality traits, motivations, emotions,
attitudes and learning processes regarding the museum visits experience. In
particular, it was intended to individuate which factors can predict young people
museum visits. Findings show that museum visit experience carried out with the
school are not so important as the museum visits conducted in autonomous way or
with the family.
The main results of the researches conducted will be discussed.
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Department of
Basic Psychological Research
and Research Methods
What can art historians learn from eyetracking?
Raphael Rosenberg
Department of Art History
University of Vienna, Austria
For centuries the movement of the eye has been an important topic of art literature.
Art historians often describe works of art assuming to follow the pathway of the
beholder’s eye. Our experiments have shown that the movement of the eyes are far
more complex, but that they do to some extent relate to the composition of
paintings. The lecture will discuss the benefits of using eye-tracking for the
advancement of art historical research.
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