Art and Psychology — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Art and Psychology

Name: Jena Thomas
Major: Studio art and Psychology
Hometown: Hinsdale, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Kimberly Greene
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

The focus of my current work is the incorporation of psychology and art. Studies in both areas and their confluence are reflected in each other and characterized by two things important to both fields: experimentation and curiosity.

For psychology, my experimentation dealt with the importance of color and art medium in relation to stress. Participants were asked to use two different art mediums, ceramics and drawing, with two different options for the occurrence of color, present or absent. Their blood pressures were recorded efore and after the session. The second blood pressure was then subtracted from the initial blood pressure to generate the participant’s scores. The results found systolic blood pressure, the measure most important for stress reduction, as being most significant for an interaction between the presence of color and clay.

For art, the focus of my work was the embodiment of ideas rooted in experimentation and theories of psychology. One of the specific concepts addressed in these terra-cotta art works is Sigmund Freud’s theory of the id, ego, and superego are symbolized in a playful three-headed dog. The first head, representing the id is a feral wolf driven and controlled by desire and impulse. The opposite head, representing the superego is a Labrador guided by the conscious ignoring impulse. The center head, representing the ego is an alpha and Doberman and tries to satisfy desires of both the id and superego. Artworks inspired by other psychological concepts include the theory of evolutionary attraction, amnesia, and pica.

Poster file