jjanet marstine: museum ethics and museum change
TRANSCRIPT
Art and Well-Being:Mapping the Connections
Carol D. Ryff University of Wisconsin-Madison
Why Museums?Association of Danish Museums
Aarhus, Denmark – March 10, 2015
Topics
My research on psychological well-being What is it? How does it matter for health? MIDUS National Study
What are sources of well-being? How does art, music, literature, poetry, dance,
film, theatre, and nature matter to our lives? The museum experience and well-being
Trapholt Collaboration
What is psychological well-being?
(mental health as more thanthe absence of the negative)
Ryff (1989) “Happiness is everything, or is it?: Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being”
Autonomy:marching toone’s owndrummer
Kjeragbolten, Norway
Environmental Mastery:managing your external world
Personal Growth: making the most of your talents and capacities
Imagerie Pellerin d’Epinal (19th century)
Positive Relations with Others: taking care of your social ties
Purpose in Life: finding meaning anddirection in your life
Self-Acceptance: recognizing and accepting your strengths and weaknesses
Self-portrait by Kseniya Beliaeva, woman artist from Belarus
Measuring Psychological Well-Being
Illustrative Items
• Autonomy (+) I have confidence in my opinions even if they are contrary
to the general consensus. (-) I tend to be influenced by people with strong opinions.
• Environmental Mastery (+) I am quite good at managing the many responsibilities of
my life. (-) The demands of everyday life often get me down.
• Personal Growth (+) I have the sense that I have developed a lot as a
person over time. (-) When I think about it, I haven’t really improved much as
a person over the years.
Illustrative Items
• Positive Relations with Others (+) Most people see me as loving and affectionate. (-) I have not experienced many warm and trusting
relationships with others.
• Purpose in Life (+) I have a sense of direction and purpose in life. (-) I don’t have a good sense of what it is I’m trying to accomplish in life.
• Self-Acceptance (+) When I look at the story of my life, I’m pleased with how
things have turned out.(-) Many days I wake up feeling discouraged about how I have lived my life.
Impact: 30 languages & 5,000 citations
Ryff(2014)
500+ Scientific Publications(150+ scientific journals)
Psychometric PropertiesAdult Development & AgingPersonality CorrelatesFamily LifeWork & Volunteer EngagementsHealth & BiomarkersIntervention/Clinical Studies
Ryff (2014) Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics
www.midus.wisc.edu
What have we learned?One Example:
aging and purpose in life[relevance for museums]
Source: MIDUS I
25-39
14.5
15.0
15.5
16.0
16.5
17.0
17.5
18.0
18.5
Young Midlife Older 40-59 60-74
Purpose in Life
Env. Mastery
Positive Relations
Autonomy
Females
Self-Acceptance
Per. Growth
Purpose in Life
Env. Mastery
Positive Relations
Autonomy
Males
Self-Acceptance
Per. Growth
14.5
15.0
15.5
16.0
16.5
17.0
17.5
18.0
18.5
Young Midlife Older 25-39 40-59 60-74
Source: MIDUS I
Longitudinal Decline (9-10 years) in Purpose in Life
14
15
16
17
18
T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2
35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84
Averagescore
Age at T2
BUT some older personsmaintain high purpose in life.
Those who do: live longer
have less diseasepractice better health behaviors
Those with higher purpose in life live longer.(Boyle et al., Psychosom Med, 2009)
Purpose in life is protective against Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment.
(Boyle et al., Archives Gen Psychiatry, 2010)
Purpose in life modifies association between Alzheimers disease pathology and cognitive function
(Boyle et al., Arch Gen Psych, 2012)
High purpose in life reduces risk of myocardial infarction among adults with coronary heart disease
(Kim et al., J Behav Med, 2013)
Those with higher purpose in life have reduced risk of stroke
(Kim et al., J Psychosomatic Res, 2013)
Higher purpose in life more preventive health behaviors (cholest. tests, cancer screenings).
(Kim, Strecher, & Ryff, PNAS, 2014)
New agenda: building bridges
between art,
cultural experience
and well-being
e.g. Trapholt
What Nurtures Purposeful Life Engagement?
(at all ages)
Museums and Life Enrichment
HELPING US TO:
• Know ourselves (self-acceptance)
• Find meaning (purpose in life)
• Deepen our capacities (personal growth)
• Nurture our social ties (positive relations with others)
• Manage our worlds (environmental mastery)
• Live by our convictions (autonomy)
Have a good time (happiness, pleasure)
Summary Points
Human well-being is multifacetedIt matters for health It needs to be nurturedMuseums can provide vital nutrients, but
this needs to be studied/researched
Vision: exploiting untapped synergies between
art and science
(1) art as refuge
How might it work?
(2) art as inspiration
How might it work?
(3) art as entertainment
How might it work?
(4) art as provocation
How might it work?
We work in the dark, we do what we can,
we give what we have.Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task.
The rest is the madness of art.
Henry James(1843 – 1916)