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Practical Guide: Investigation into the effect of physical theatre on emotional intelligence in adolescents

Introduction This guide is aiming to propose a potential study of emotional intelligence (EI) and the possibility for its improvement through the specific aspect of dramatherapy: physical theatre.

Hypothesis

The null hypothesis:

‘There is no effect of physical theatre therapy on participants in terms of improvement of emotional intelligence score’

The alternative hypothesis

‘Participants who are actively involved in physical theatre sessions improve EI score by the end of the course than the control group that does not attend the sessions’

The physical theatre therapy might not benefit EI; that is the reason why the null hypothesis should be taken into account before accepting the alternative hypothesis and rejecting the null. The null hypothesis must be falsified if the experiment shows a positive improvement in EI score by the end of the physical theatre course. The alternative hypothesis should be accepted if it is statistically significant.

Testing

Note that the control group is needed to see the difference in scores between the experimental sample and the control group. The control group should also be tested at the beginning of the course and after 6 weeks of the course.

Before the beginning of the physical theatre course, the researcher should perform Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) . Moreover, the same test should be 1 2

performed after the completion of the course. It measures EI with a help of various tasks which include objective and impersonal questions, by testing the participant's ability to perceive, use, understand, and regulate emotions in everyday scenarios given in the test.

MSCEIT tests key features ( “Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), by J. D. Mayer, P. Salovey, and D. R. Caruso, 2002, Toronto, Ontario: Multi-Health Systems, Inc.): Perceiving Emotions: The ability to perceive emotions in oneself and others or in more abstract objects (e.g art, stories, stimuli, music and etc) Facilitating Thought: The ability to generate, use, and feel emotion in order to communicate feelings successfully or employ them in other cognitive processes Understanding Emotions: The ability to understand emotional information, the combination of emotions, emotional progression through relationship transitions, and to appreciate these emotional meanings Managing Emotions: The ability to open up to feelings and to regulate them in oneself as well as others to promote personal growth The administration time is 30-45 minutes using either of the formats: hardware or software; the format should be the same for all participants in order to increase the reliability of scores. The participant must be alone in a room unless they need assistance. This lowers down the likelihood of social desirability to occur and thus increases the validity of data gathered.

However, the original test has to be modified in the following way: the filler questions concerning physical theatre and participant’s opinion on it have to be added in order to cover the real aims of the study and increase experimental realism.

Multi Health Systems, ‘The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT)’, 1

Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations <http://www.eiconsortium.org/measures/msceit.html> [accessed March 20, 2017]

MHS, ‘MSCEIT - Mayer - Salovey - Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test’, MHS assessments < 2

https://www.mhs.com/MHS-Talent?prodname=msceit> [accessed 14 February 2017]

Sample

The target population of this study is 16-18 years old adolescents. The reason for this specific group is that emotional intelligence is developing alongside with other skills and cognition growth. They learn the ability to think in more complex ways which later constructs 3

their own view of the world, gaining the knowledge of interpretation of appropriate emotional response according to a context. During this period, some of them attempt to use logical operations in schoolwork before they can use them for personal problems, meaning that the ability to redirect the attention to the most important stimuli in their environment. When 4

emotional issues occur, they can interfere with a teenager’s ability to think in complex ways, therefore requiring him or her to develop stress resistance and emotional management in order to maintain stable and good emotional health.

It is advised for the sample to consist of an equal number of males and females in order to minimise gender bias and observe any differences in EI improvement between both genders.

12 or 24 participants is the perfect number of people needed for a participation, as it allows an equal distribution of participants in the groups of 2, 3 and 4. However, a different number of participants can still be used.

Over the first 2 weeks: participants work in pairs (the same pairs for every session) Over the second 2 weeks: participants work in trios Over the last 3 weeks: participants work in quartets

All participants should give their consent and their parent/guardian’s informed consent. Participants themselves should not know all aims of the ‘physical theatre course’, leading to passive deception, in order to avoid demand characteristics and social desirability bias as much as possible. However, after the last testing, the investigator should obtain retrogrative consent and remind both parent/guardian and participant about the right to withdraw.

The sample is gathered through volunteer sampling by introducing ‘physical theatre’ activity as part of a co-curricular program and emailing parents the following letter:

‘Dear Sir/Madame,

We are a group of qualified psychologists conducting a study on understanding and practice of emotions in adolescents. We are recruiting participants for a 6-week course of physical theatre and if you would like to volunteer, please read the attached document (Form 1) and make sure you do not tell the aims of the study to your child in order to increase validity of our findings. The physical theatre course will be presented to them in a form of activity for their co-curricular education.

Liora Adler, Amy Finke, ‘Cognitive Development in Adolescence’, University of Rochester Medical 3

Centre <https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P01594> [accessed 19 May 2017]

Peter Salovey, John D Mayer, ‘Emotional Intelligence’, Imagination, Cognition and Personality, vol. 4

9, (1989-1990), pp. 185-211

Kindest Regards, (Chief Researcher name) (Contacts)’

Note that the control group is needed to see the difference in scores between the experimental sample and the control group. The number of people in the control group should be the same as in the experimental group. The control group must not be part of the physical theatre course and these students should be chosen through stratified sampling and be matched to the participants in the experimental group.

Methodology

● Mentor is the person leading the sessions (teacher, investigator, etc.) ● Before each devising exercise, it is highly advised to conduct a short and gentle

stretching routine in order to minimise injuries ● The structure of each session is: warm-up, devising, choreographic exercises,

choreography project ● Choreography project should take 25 minutes each session for choreographing and

rehearsing the motif. ● During each choreography, sessions, and exercises, the mentor should go around

and help if asked. Also, he/she has to help on developing the explicit emotions and feelings through explaining how emotions are felt physically.

The exercises mentioned below are based on different theatre practitioner that promoted the use of the body as the main tool for emotional communication. During choreographing a sequence the theory of strokes and units should be used to create variation in intimacy between characters and their relationship. Moreover, by developing choreography through establishing a prolonged eye contact, participants may express intimacy or closeness which means that they might be able to understand each other’s emotions better due to this intimacy.

Strokes and units: our rituals and conversation consist of different numbers of units. Usual acquaintances owe each other one stroke unit in the form of ‘Hi’. More strokes indicate more detailed conversation where both people self-disclose and thus establish more reliable and trustful relationship, therefore the theory of procedures, rituals, and strokes by Eric Berne can help participants to develop a narrative through using a principle of strokes and thus engage with emotional roller-coaster more deeply. 5

Session number

Exercises Number of people in one group for choreography

Theatre practitioners used

Extra

1 Name tag Commedia street The Chair Duet Gestures* Start choreographing a sequence

2 Frantic Assembly Complicite

In this session, participants choose their partner for the next 4 sessions. Show videos of Frantic Assembly to help to understand of the idea of the Chair Duet. The last exercise should take around 20 min.

Eric Berne, Games people play: the psychology of human relationships (London: Penguin Life, 5

2016), p. 33-37

2 Spine roll Slow motion race The letter Standing choreography Continue with choreography

2 Frantic Assembly

Choreography exercise should take around 15 min

3 Throw the object Shifting gravity Visual Poetry Phone number Choreography

2 Artaud Use alternation tools to develop the narrative and emotions to the story

4 Spine roll The raft Marionette Freestyle Choreography

2 Use alternation tools to develop the narrative and emotions to the story

5 Lifting the glass The waiter Standing choreography Choreography

3 Frantic Assembly

Leave actors to explore their possibilities in terms of creating a choreography involving three people

6 (Skip warm-up) Visual Poetry The Chair Duet Lifts* Choreography

3 Frantic Assembly

Try several variations with the chair duet. Do a chair trio from the start, or have two actors starting the sequence and another actor joining in.

7 Spine roll Throw the object Commedia street Lifts* Choreography

3 Complicite Use alternation tools to develop the narrative and emotions to the story

8 Spine roll The raft Freestyle Choreography


9 Lift the arm Slow motion race Visual poetry Marionette Choreography

4 Artaud Visual Poetry requires lot of emotional energy to communicate poem with body

*Make sure that the mentor knows some lifts so he/she can teach other actors

Warm-up games A warm-up is essential because actors need to gain focus and prepare for work mentally and physically.

Lift the arm: Participants should close their eyes and lift the arm slowly to shoulder height. Ask actors to notice what happens during the action, notice the tension in specific muscles and control used to lift the arm. After several trials (around 1 minute), ask them to increase or decrease the speed of lifting the arm and acknowledge any difference in sensations. Switch side after 2 minutes. After the task is completed, suggest participants lift the arm with their palm upward and downward and ask for any possible interpretation of the gesture, linking to a context and possible feeling (e.g. hope, manipulation, sadness and etc.) The aim of the exercise: To gain awareness of the body (consciousness which is not linked to language, yet the ability to notice the response in body to a stimulus)

Slow motion race: The aim of the exercise is to lose by being the slowest runner. Divide the group into two halves, the first group are the runners and the second group is the spectators. Runners should be constantly moving, and spectators should cheer in slow motion. After the investigator says ‘on your mark, get set, go!’, all runners start the race (keep in mind, they should run in slow motion). Once the first runner (or the fastest runner) reaches the finish line, everything breaks into real-time and pace. Switch the group after all runners reached the finish line. The aim of the exercise: To achieve articulation of movement by breaking down movements into component parts

10 Counting The letter Standing choreography Lifts* Choreography

4 Frantic Assembly

In the letter, ask more volunteers to join the improvisation, maintaining silence. Actors should understand the emotion omitted the first volunteer and contribute to it

11 Spine roll The raft Freestyle Choreography


12 Pass the laugh Freestyle Choreography


Throw the object: The starting position is standing. Legs are metre apart, knees bent. Ask participants to imagine heavy discus or object in their hands. They have to ‘throw’ the object into space by swiveling pelvis like discus athlete and sense the moment when they throw the object. After this trial, ask them to throw the object using both hands and then try modeling different energies by imagining cotton ball or rock. The aim of the exercise: to develop the skill of transmitting energy that creates a strong link with a spectator, as the physical link equals to increased tension in spectator enabling him to empathise through sensual rather than sentimental empathy. Pass the sticks: Participants should stand in a circle and each of them should have thin bamboo sticks the same length. They have to hold the stick by pressing it slightly into the ground vertically with an index finger. The investigator gives a signal ‘change’ and all actors move clockwise, releasing carefully their sticks and trying to catch their right neighbor's stick. The aim is not to let any of the sticks to fall down as the whole group should move in unison and be considerate to their teammate. The aim of the exercise: to be considerate to a teammate and be aware of others in an ensemble in order to achieve synchronised movement which reinforces any of the aspects of choreography (emotion, tempo, sound and etc.)

Pass the laugh: The whole group is walking around the room. The first person starts with a laugh merely a glint in their eyes and tries to make an eye contact with another actor. After the eye contact, the second person slightly twitches his mouth. This carries on until the laughter is accompanied by tears, almost a hysterical laughter. The aim of the exercise: to develop the skill of transmitting energy that creates a strong link with another actor and be able to work together in order to complement each other’s intentions and emotions.

Spine roll: Stand tall, slowly roll the spine down and slowly roll up, spine by spine with the head coming up the last. The aim of the exercise: to warm up the spine and prevent injuries and stiffness during physical activity

The raft: Two actors stand back to back. Actor X links their arms through Y’s at the elbows. X places their feet meter apart and positions themselves against Y so that Y’s buttocks fit snugly into the hollow of X’s back. X bends forward and gradually straightens their knees. Once stable, they unlink their arms and close their eyes. Y needs to let their head fall backward. The aim of the exercise: to be able to trust each other and establish physical empathy towards each other.

Shifting gravity: Actors should shift centre of gravity and start walking with one body part leading the way The aim of the exercise: to be aware of space

Fixed Points: Actor should focus on anything in the room start walking towards it without breaking the contact The aim of the exercise: to be aware of space and improve peripheral vision that will help to avoid any collisions

Name tag: There is ‘IT’, who is aiming to tag someone. However, the actor who is being chased can shout out someone else’s name and the named person becomes ‘it’ The aim of the exercise: get to know everyone and be aware of space

Long lost relatives: Props needed: socks, waistbands In pairs, each actor wears a waistband and a sock attached to the back. The aim of the game is to take the opponents sock, but also act out a situation of two long-lost relatives meeting each other. The aim of the exercise: to bring the focus and learn both improvisation skills and quick-thinking skills.

Lifting the glass: Actors stand in a circle, with equal spaces between them. They imagine a large circular plate of glass on the floor. They work together to lift the glass off the ground. Then they are asked to move it to a new position and replace it gently on the ground. Then they are asked to move it to a new position, without any potential breakage. The whole exercise should take place in silence, only eye contact is allowed as a form of communication. The aim of the exercise: to build teamwork and understanding of non-verbal communication amongst group

Counting: The whole group stands in a circle and closes their eyes. They have to count in order from 1 to 50 in order, one by one, calling the numbers by random people. As soon as two actors say the number simultaneously, the counting starts from the beginning. The aim of the exercise: to engage participants in working together and starting to take actions as a group, rather than as an individual

Devising exercises These exercises help to develop devising skills and feel more comfortable with improvisation, as well as they open minds for more scenario sand possible emotional response.

Commedia street: A group of 6 should be casted into three pairs: X1 and X2, Y1 and Y2, Z1 and Z2. The story: The X and Y couples have lived on the street for years. X1 has been in a long-standing affair with Y2. Their partners do not know about it. The Z couple moves into the middle house. Y1 falls in love mutually with Z1. They begin an affair.

You may designate entrances and exits for all three houses, but it is not necessary. The only prop which is allowed for each group is a dustbin or laundry basket - big enough to hide a person in. The options for further development is: either act silently or use real language. The scenario is improvised and actors are given 5 minutes. The aim of the exercise: to learn devising skills and feel more open to improvisations.

The waiter: Props needed: a table, a chair, and a tea-towel. Two volunteers play this game, one is the waiter, who carries the tea-towel over their arm, and the other is the customer who comes to eat at the restaurant. Actors do not speak, everything is mimed, apart from props mentioned above. They have to imagine it is a posh restaurant. Actors should try not to impose any ‘backstory’. The waiter just carries and uses the towel, enters and exits. Actors should be in the moment and focus on being the customer and the waiter. The humor emerges from the fact that both actors try to do everything right, but fail. Different chemistries between new pairs will generate new and fresh scenarios. Allow the improvisation to continue until one of the actors runs out of steam. Then invite another volunteer to take over his/her role and carry on. The aim of the exercise: to prepare actors for miming and improvisation

The letter: Prop: A blank sheet of paper folded into an envelope. Place the letter onstage and one volunteer enters. He/she sees the letter and plays an imaginary situation physically, without any words. Actors should avoid ‘creating a letter’ before they actually open and read it. It is important to show an emotional response to a letter so both actor and audience can experience some kind of emotion. The aim of the exercise: to start generating an emotion through use of imagination and personal experience

Visual Poetry: Ask participants to use dance, gesture, and movement instead of words to communicate a chosen poem. The trick is to be emotionally committed and let the ID out (Freud) and not restrict yourself with cognitive processing of words. Ask participants to move without thinking. The aim of the exercise: to focus on expressing the meaning and feelings of the poem through movement

Choreography exercises These exercises will help with gaining ideas about linking movements to choreograph a sequence and adding meaning to it. These exercises do not restrict actors, they are some new techniques that can be used in terms of creating own physical theatre sequence.

The Chair Duet: Actors sit next to a partner and create contact improvisation whilst seated. This exercise requires a call and response style of working: each actor performs one movement, and then their partner would start their movement, hence ’responding’. Due to restrictive nature of sitting down, it demands exploration and experiments

with different movements to make the most of the body parts that are available. The idea of ‘Chair Duets’ is to build a story through movement and ultimately create a working scene from it. Based on the idea that increase in a number of strokes and units* within the interaction establishes more reliable relationship between two people, proposed by Eric Berne (Games People Play), encourage participants to create a sequence of only 4 movements each and then 15 movements each. Do they experience any differences in their relationship? Avoid creating a story before choreographing a sequence.

Standing choreography: Both actors stand facing each other and apply the same principles used in the chair duet, but standing. Once they choreographed the sequence, use alternation tools written below to add a meaning and a story to the sequence. They can also start moving around and attempting to incorporate lifts. At this stage, participants should use their emotions to create a story between two characters and act them out explicitly through the movement.

Phone number: The work is happening in a pair. The pair has to choose a phone number (or create one). Then they stand facing each other and imagine a telephone keypad in front of them and slowly start ‘pressing’ the number. They need to mirror each other and press the numbers at the same time.

Marionette: Work in pairs. One person is the manipulator, another one is a puppet. It is up to partners to choose their starting position. The manipulator can move the puppet’s body part WITHOUT a body contact. The puppet has to move in accordance with manipulator’s gestures.

Freestyle: Let actors choreograph their 3-5 min sequence using any technique. It can be dance, lifts, chair duet, standing choreography, anything but it cannot use words. Each actor is required to focus on one emotion that their character is feeling during the interaction.

Alteration Tools (some examples of interpretation are given):

Eye contact: avoidance or presence of eye contact between actors and intention behind it -avoidance of eye contact can show isolation and distrust, while intense eye contact can express strong feelings towards another (as an example) Facial Expression: the way actor uses facial expressions to convey emotions Proxemics: how close or distant are actors from each other -being close to each other may symbolise intimacy, walking away from each other may show how they are leaving after an argument. Levels: high/medium/low levels -a high level may show power and low level may show powerlessness Speed: faster or slower pace of action -faster pace can show passion Dynamics: energy of movements -soft movements can express love

Complementarity: two different movements complement each other Retrogression: movements are performed in a reverse order, like a tape being rewinded -to show the flashback Repetition: repetition of motives and movements -to show routine and boredom Mirroring: the same movement is mirrored by both actors

Data analysis

Before the start of the course, the researcher must calculate the measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode) of the original EI scores of the experimental group and control group, and record individual scores as well. At the end of the course, the difference between the original score and the final score of each participant (control and experimental) must be calculated and the mean should be obtained separately (control is separate from experimental); this allows for measuring standard deviation in order to see any variation in the scores. This would show whether the improvement was significant and various enough to make conclusions. Due to the fact that EI score is considered to be numerical data, this means that it is quantitative data. In terms of the level of measurement, it is ‘interval’ because it is a numerical value without a true zero point. The experiment consists of two independent groups, which means that Unrelated t-test should be performed.

T-Test Degrees of Freedom

Degrees of freedom for between-participants design is the (number of participants in control-1) + (number of participants in experimental group-1)

Calculating the Unrelated T-Test

1. Assume that the null hypothesis is true 2. Set your significance level at p<0.05 3. Unrelated T-Test can be calculated by using the following formula:

Where x1 is the mean of first data set x2 is the mean of first data set S12 is the standard deviation of first data set S22 is the standard deviation of first data set

N1 is the number of elements in the first data set N2 is the number of elements in the first data set

In order to substitute into the formula, the standard deviation* and the mean of both sets of data needs to be calculated.

*SD: Shows how much variation or dispersion exists from the average, or expected value

Standard Deviation 1: Total Inputs (number of participants) = N Mean*(xm) *Mean (the sum of all scores is divided by the total input (N))= (x1+x2+x3…xn)/N

SD = √1/(N-1)x((x1-xm)2+(x2-xm)2+..+(xn-xm)2))

Standard Deviation 2: Total Inputs (number of participants) = N Mean*(xm) *Mean (the sum of all scores is divided by the total input (N))= (x1+x2+x3…xn)/N

SD = √1/(N-1)x((x1-xm)2+(x2-xm)2+..+(xn-xm)2))

After both standard deviations have been calculated, substitute the values into the formula instead of S1 and S2

Accepting/Rejecting Hypothesis:

If the t-score is within the 95% interval: accept the null hypothesis and reject the experimental hypothesis.

If the t-score is outside the 95% interval: reject the null hypothesis and accept the experimental hypothesis.

ETHICS

In this study it is important to ensure that all ethical guidelines have been followed, such as protection from physical and psychological harm, consent from participants, providing a right to withdraw and a right for further counseling, and ensure confidentiality of data collected. In this section, the Information sheet for parents and participants, and sample transcript for debriefing have been submitted.

Parents must read and sign FORM 1 prior to the study, thus giving a presumptive consent instead of their children.

Participants that take part in the sessions must be given the informational sheet (Form 2) and retrospective consent form after the last testings. For the experimental group, the study should be presented as a co-curricular activity in order to increase the validity of the findings. It is not recommended to present the information sheet to the experimental group for this reason.

Control group must sign the sheet and consent form for CONTROL GROUP.

The possible harm can include following: Physical injuries Psychological harm, such as depression, sadness, fury, distress and extreme anxiety.

Information Sheet for Parents (Form 1)

Project title: The effect of physical theatre on Emotional Intelligence

INVITATION Your child is being invited to take part in a research study assessing the extent to which drama therapy (in a form of physical theatre and choreography) can influence positively emotional intelligence. We are a group of psychologists from [university or another institution name] who are qualified to perform the research on adolescents. The study has been approved by British Psychological Society (BPS)

WHAT WILL HAPPEN In this study, your child will be asked to take part in a 6-week course consisting of 12 sessions (two per week) which includes choreography workshops, physical exercises and self-exploration of emotions. The study also involves MSCEIT (test), before and after the course in order to measure and record any improvement.

Emotional Intelligence consists of: Perceiving Emotions: The ability to perceive emotions in oneself and others or in more abstract objects (e.g art, stories, stimuli, music and etc) Facilitating Thought: The ability to generate, use, and feel emotion in order to communicate feelings successfully or employ them in other cognitive processes Understanding Emotions: The ability to understand emotional information, the combination of emotions, emotional progression through relationship transitions, and to appreciate these emotional meanings Managing Emotions: The ability to open up to feelings and to regulate them in oneself as well as others to promote personal growth

TIME COMMITMENT The study typically takes one hour per session (12 sessions in total), over the course of 6 weeks.

PARTICIPANTS’ RIGHTS You may decide to stop your child’s participation at any time. You have the right to ask that any data supplied to that point be withdrawn/destroyed.

We will ask your child’s permission before we begin the study, and they can stop at any point, however, in order to increase validity, your children will not know the aims of the study and the course will be presented as co-curricular activities. We highly recommend you to avoid revealing the aims until the end of the study, as we will also ask your child for retrogrative consent, ensure them and you about the confidentiality of data and remind them about their right to withdraw.

Feel free to ask questions at any point. If you have any questions as a result of reading this information sheet, you should ask the researcher before the study begins.

BENEFITS AND RISKS This study poses no severe risks to your child, however, some minor injuries are possible if the safety of lifts and choreography has not been taken into account. In case of extreme

distress and anxiety (which are not likely to occur), you as a parent have a right to withdraw from the study. It provides the following benefits: your child will gain a greater control over his/her body and understand their emotions better, which may also decrease the stress level and teach them to control emotions during completion of a focus-related task.

COST, REIMBURSEMENT AND COMPENSATION Your participation in this study is voluntary CONFIDENTIALITY/ANONYMITY As a default, the raw data/videos we collect will only be seen by members of the research team, and will not be linked to any identifying information (e.g., name, address, email) that you supplied. The anonymous data collected may be shared with other researchers via public data repositories, with summaries presented at conferences and in academic publications. We will ensure that it is not possible to identify your child’s identity from any of the information we publish and share about this study. Your child’s name would be referred as initials (e.g Amy White as ‘AW’) in publications, conferences and presentations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION [Supervisor’s/PI’s name] will be glad to answer your questions about this study at any time, and can inform you about the results of the study once data collection is complete. You may contact her/him at [contacts provided] If you have questions about your rights in this research, or you have any other questions, concerns, suggestions, or complaints that you do not feel can be addressed by the researcher, please contact the [contact details]

Consent Form

The effect of physical theatre on Emotional Intelligence

By signing below, you are agreeing that: (1) you have read and understood the Participant Information Sheet, (2) questions about your child’s participation in this study have been answered satisfactorily, (3) anonymised data only may be shared in public data repositories, and (4) you are willing for your child to take part in this voluntary research study voluntarily.

_________________________________ _________________________________

Caregiver’s Name (Printed)* Child’s name (Print)*

_________________________________ Caregiver’s signature*

_________________________________ _________________________________

Child’s Date of Birth Today’s Date

_______________________________ _________________________________ Name of person obtaining consent (Printed) Signature of person obtaining consent

*Participants wishing to preserve some degree of anonymity may use their initials (from the British Psychological Society Guidelines for Minimal Standards of Ethical Approval in Psychological Research)

Information Form for Participants (Form 2)

PROJECT TITLE The Effects of Physical Theatre on Improvement of Emotional Intelligence

AIMS OF THE STUDY This study was conducted in order to establish the effect of physical theatre as part of drama therapy on emotional intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence consists of: Perceiving Emotions: The ability to perceive emotions in oneself and others or in more abstract objects (e.g art, stories, stimuli, music and etc) Facilitating Thought: The ability to generate, use, and feel emotion in order to communicate feelings successfully or employ them in other cognitive processes Understanding Emotions: The ability to understand emotional information, the combination of emotions, emotional progression through relationship transitions, and to appreciate these emotional meanings Managing Emotions: The ability to open up to feelings and to regulate them in oneself as well as others to promote personal growth

In the modern world it is important for you to be able to understand your own and others’ emotions for establishment of interpersonal relationships and creation of stress management strategies (especially during the exam time).

PARTICIPANTS’ RIGHTS You have the right to ask that any data you have supplied to that point be withdrawn/destroyed. You have the right to have your questions about the study answered. If you have any questions as a result of reading this information sheet, you should ask the researcher.

CONFIDENTIALITY/ANONYMITY As a default, the raw data/videos we collect will only be seen by members of the research team, and will not be linked to any identifying information (e.g. name, address, email) that you supplied. The anonymous data collected may be shared with other researchers via public data repositories, with summaries presented at conferences and in academic publications. We will ensure that it is not possible to identify your identity from any of the information we publish and share about this study. Your name would be referred as initials (e.g Amy White as ‘AW’) in publications, conferences and presentations.

Rentrogrative consent form

The Effects of Physical Theatre on Improvement of Emotional Intelligence

By signing below, you are agreeing that: (1) you have read and understood the Participant Information Sheet, (2) questions about your participation in this study have been answered satisfactorily, (3) anonymised data only may be shared in public research repositories

_________________________________

Participant’s Name (Printed)*

_________________________________ _________________________________

Participant’s signature* Date _______________________________ _________________________________ Name of person obtaining consent (Printed) Signature of person obtaining consent

*Participants wishing to preserve some degree of anonymity may use their initials (from the British Psychological Society Guidelines for Minimal Standards of Ethical Approval in Psychological Research)

Information Sheet for Participants (Control Group)

Project title: The effect of physical theatre on Emotional Intelligence

INVITATION Your are invited to take part in a research study assessing the extent to which drama therapy (in a form of physical theatre and choreography) can influence positively emotional intelligence. We are a group of psychologists from [university or another institution name] who are qualified to perform the research on adolescents. The study has been approved by British Psychological Society (BPS).

WHAT WILL HAPPEN In this study, your child will be asked to take part in completing a physical theatre questionnaire, in the beginning of the study and after 6 weeks to compare the results.

TIME COMMITMENT You will be asked to come to complete a questionnaire which takes less than one hour.

PARTICIPANTS’ RIGHTS You may decide to withdraw at any time. You have the right to ask that any data supplied to that point be withdrawn/destroyed.

Feel free to ask questions at any point. If you have any questions as a result of reading this information sheet, you should ask the researcher before the study begins.

BENEFITS AND RISKS This study poses no known risks

COST, REIMBURSEMENT AND COMPENSATION Your participation in this study is voluntary CONFIDENTIALITY/ANONYMITY As a default, the raw data/videos we collect will only be seen by members of the research team, and will not be linked to any identifying information (e.g., name, address, email) that you supplied. The anonymous data collected may be shared with other researchers via public data repositories, with summaries presented at conferences and in academic publications. We will ensure that it is not possible to identify your name from any of the information we publish and share about this study. Your name would be referred as initials (e.g Amy White as ‘AW’) in publications, conferences and presentations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION [Supervisor’s/PI’s name] will be glad to answer your questions about this study at any time, and can inform you about the results of the study once data collection is complete. You may contact her/him at [contacts provided] If you have questions about your rights in this research, or you have any other questions, concerns, suggestions, or complaints that you do not feel can be addressed by the researcher, please contact the [contact details]

Consent Form

The effect of physical theatre on Emotional Intelligence

By signing below, you are agreeing that: (1) you have read and understood the Participant Information Sheet, (2) questions about your participation in this study have been answered satisfactorily, (3) anonymised data only may be shared in public data repositories, and (4) you are willing for your child to take part in this voluntary research study voluntarily.

_________________________________ _________________________________

Name (Printed)*

Debriefing

Debriefing for parents

Thank you for your allowing your child to participate in this study of the positive effects of physical theatre therapy on emotional intelligence. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of drama therapy, in particularly physical theatre, on emotional intelligence. In this experiment, your child has been taught improvisation, choreographing and movement skills in order to aid his/her understanding of his/her and others’ emotions. Your child was asked to complete an EI test prior to the course and after the course in order to compare his or her scores and establish any effect of physical theatre on perception, identification and use of emotions in a particular context. We were interested in how the expression of internal state through the body and facial expression can help you in understanding emotions and be able to apply personal experience to empathise with others.

Your child’s participation is not only greatly appreciated by the researchers involved, but the data collected could possibly aid teenagers and young adults that may feel misunderstood and afraid of their natural emotions, as well as the findings might be used to establish new type of therapy.

Some of the questions we asked during the tests were deceiving your child into thinking that the study was about their opinion on physical theatre, however, what we were really testing was his/her EI score. We would like to inform you that all data collected in confidential and your child’s name would not be mentioned in the article or any future conferences.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact us. Names and email addresses for all researchers, including supervisors, should be listed below.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them now.

If you feel concerned or uncomfortable about the fact that your child was intentionally deceived, you may tell us to withdraw his/her data from the sample. Remember that the results are confidential to me and my supervisor, and that all results are published anonymously as group data. If participating in this experiment has caused sufficient distress you that you wish to speak to a counsellor, please contact one of the following:

NAME phone number NAME phone number NAME phone number

If you have any complaints, concerns, or questions about this research, please feel free to contact the <research investigator> at <contact info>. If you would like to learn more about this experiment and its results, please contact *add faculty name, phone number and email address*.

Thank you

Debriefing for participants

Thank you for your participation in this study of the positive effects of physical theatre therapy on emotional intelligence. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of drama therapy, in particularly physical theatre, on emotional intelligence. In this experiment, you were taught improvisation, choreographing and movement skills in order to aid your understanding of your and others’ emotions. You were asked to complete an EI test prior to the course and after the course in order to compare the scores and establish any effect of physical theatre on perception, identification and use of emotions in a particular context. We were interested in how the expression of internal state through the body and facial expression can help you in understanding emotions and be able to apply your personal experience to empathise with others.

Your participation is not only greatly appreciated by the researchers involved, but the data collected could possibly aid teenagers and young adults that may feel misunderstood and afraid of their natural emotions, as well as the findings might be used to establish new type of therapy.

Some of the questions we asked during the tests were deceiving you into thinking that the study was about your opinion on physical theatre, however, what we were really testing was your EI score. We would like to inform you that all data collected in confidential and your name would not be mentioned in the article or any future conferences. We would also like to inform you, that your parents gave us their informed consent for your participation in this study. This was done to ensure your safety. If you have any questions about this study, please contact us. Names and email addresses for all researchers, including supervisors, should be listed below.


If you feel concerned or uncomfortable about the fact that you were intentionally deceived, you may tell us to withdraw your data from the sample. Remember that your results are confidential to me and my supervisor, and that all results are published anonymously as group data. If participating in this experiment has caused sufficient distress you that you wish to speak to a counsellor, please contact one of the following:

NAME phone number NAME phone number NAME phone number NAME phone number


Thank you

Debriefing for control group

Thank you for your participation in this study of the positive effects of physical theatre therapy on emotional intelligence. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of drama therapy, in particularly physical theatre, on emotional intelligence. In this experiment, you were the control group and were asked to complete an EI test and after 6 weeks we re-tested you in order to compare the scores. We were interested in how the expression of internal state through the body and facial expression can help you in understanding emotions and be able to apply your personal experience to empathise with others, and you as a control group would show whether the experimental group has improved their EI during the course.

Your participation is not only greatly appreciated by the researchers involved, but the data collected could possibly aid teenagers and young adults that may feel misunderstood and afraid of their natural emotions, as well as the findings might be used to establish new type of therapy.

Some of the questions we asked during the tests were deceiving you into thinking that the study was about your opinion on physical theatre, however, what we were really testing was your EI score. We would like to inform you that all data collected in confidential and your name would not be mentioned in the article or any future conferences.

We would also like to inform you, that your parents gave us their informed consent for your participation in this study. This was done to ensure your safety.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact us. Names and email addresses for all researchers, including supervisors, should be listed below.


If you feel concerned or uncomfortable about the fact that you were intentionally deceived, you may tell us to withdraw your data from the sample. Remember that your results are confidential to me and my supervisor, and that all results are published anonymously as group data. If participating in this experiment has caused sufficient distress you that you wish to speak to a counsellor, please contact one of the following:

NAME phone number NAME phone number NAME phone number


Thank you

Tatiana Ermolenko

The Empathetic Movement: can physical theatre improve emotional intelligence in adolescents?

1.The final product My final artifact is a guide for a future experiment which should investigate the possible positive effect of physical theatre on emotional intelligence in adolescents. This course has been designed to be conducted by a certified therapist or psychologist, however, originally I planned to conduct my own research using the same guidelines that I wrote in the work.

2. Initial stimulus to the project The idea for my project has emerged from reading article called ‘10 Most Evil Psychopaths You Probably Didn’t Know’ . The person who intrigued me the most was Dr. Thomas Cream, 1

who was found to be responsible for fatally poisoning several of his patients and became famous for saying following last words before his death: ‘I am Jack…’ which were interpreted to mean Jack the Ripper. I started to research the more precise description of psychopathy and a particular aspect of it interested me the most: Lack of empathy. Instead of researching empathy, I focused on emotional intelligence which psychopaths also lack to some extent as they cannot empathise or recognise others’ emotions. What came to my mind after researching emotional intelligence, people around me might lack emotional intelligence (EI) as well. If it is possible to prevent criminal activity through improvement of emotional intelligence, why do we not promote courses and training for adolescents? My initial suggestion was that if IQ can change over time , therefore EQ can also change. 2

At this point, the decision was to investigate specifically emotional intelligence which requires empathetic skills and possibilities to improve it in adolescents through dance and movement. Physical theatre seemed to combine both dance principles and emotional work, so I decided to use this aspect of dramatic arts in my study.

3. Research The primary research involved my work experience at physical theatre company Gecko and attendance of workshops at Frantic Assembly on physical theatre and devising sequences of movements. During workshops, I learned the choreography techniques that are widely used by Frantic Assembly and that focus on clarity of movements first and then apply any emotional narrative to the motif. This approach inspired me to use the idea of ‘movement then story’ in my sessions because I wanted my participants to use their capabilities of recalling the emotions and identify appropriate emotion in the narrative they develop. I had a

Jamie Frater, ’10 Evil Psychopaths You Probably Don’t Know’, Listverse <https://listverse.com/2011/02/09/10-evil-1

psychopaths-you-probably-dont-know/> [accessed 13th of October 2016]

Michael J.A. Howe, ‘Can IQ change?’, The Psychologist, February 1998, pp. 69-71 2

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marvellous opportunity to ask choreographers techniques and exercises that they use with their actors in order to devise a motif and explore the emotional interaction between the characters within the scene. I was advised to read the book ‘Through the Body’ by Dymphna Callary for a full description of exercises that I might want to use with my sample, as I expected some of them to be new to the theatrical techniques and physical theatre as a whole. I found this book very helpful and used for devising the warm-ups before any sessions. The secondary research was mainly into theoretical part of the project, such as gaining a broader idea about emotional intelligence and the way we can ‘feel’ the emotions physiologically, in order to gain stimulus for choreography by isolating different physiological responses and interpreting them into movement or dynamic. This was done for my understanding of emotion and the way my participants should be asked to act it out with the use of their body rather than verbal owing because it is believed that understanding non-verbal communication is important in terms of identifying other people’s emotions and thus empathising with them. Without physical cues, it is hard to perceive someone’s feelings and also understand how we express our emotions to others. Therefore, the knowledge gained from articles had to be analysed and applied to the context of theatre practice. Furthermore, I had to research the principles of physical theatre and specific exercises that are used by different theatre practitioners that require empathy and emotional commitment. The more participants practiced the skill of identifying others’ and own emotions through practical work, the more they would improve their emotional intelligence.

4. Theoretical Research

4.1 Emotional Intelligence

I started to research emotional intelligence and its link to the general intelligence. What I found was the research evidence from University of Illinois which suggested that general intelligence and emotional intelligence are not two separate types of cognitive processes that come into conflicted during decision-making (also known as ‘brain vs. heart’ or ‘reason vs. emotions’), but they are parts of the one ‘intelligence’. The study consisted of mapping both ‘intelligences’ to see their localisation, however, ‘the results of the study showed a strong overlap both in the brain and in behavior’, says professor Aron Barbey . This means 3

that future treatments might be developed to aid both general and emotional intelligence at the same time, or they might involve the change in one of them to affect another as well.

The term ‘emotional intelligence’ (EI) was proposed by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, stating that it is ‘the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to 4

discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions’. In their article they also defined two other words within this term; emotions are organised responses to a stimulus which can be processed through cognitive, physiological, motivational and experiential systems, and Wechsler defined intelligence as “the aggregate

David Szondy, ‘U.S. researchers map emotional intelligence the brain’, New Atlas <https://newatlas.com/emotional-3

intelligence-brain-mapped/25980/> [accessed 15th of October 2016]

Peter Salovey, John D Mayer, ‘Emotional Intelligence’, Imagination, Cognition and Personality, vol. 9, (1989-1990), pp. 4185-211

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or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment". However, Antonio Damasio argued that ‘ to control 5

emotion we need the feeling, the conscious awareness of the emotion, but that many emotional responses occur unconsciously’ . This leads to the idea that in order to maintain 6

the control over our emotions in stressful situations, we need to be able to acknowledge them at the first place and then take them and reasoning affected by emotional impulse under control . This is important for adolescents as they are going through various situations 7

where they have to maintain rational thinking (e.g. exams). This can be supported by Daniel Goleman, as he says that mood affects thoughts and decisions, especially in students. He talks how teachers have seen an upset child who is struggling to continue with his/her work or focus on a task. This disruptive emotional state can affect the way this student processes and learns information taught in classes. This links to the idea that positive moods boost 8

creativity, decision-making and problem-solving, which are also features of the general intelligence (IQ). This demonstrates that Barbey’s findings can support and explain the neural and behavioural phenomenon described by Goleman.

In the 21st century, emotional intelligence is an essential trait which is required for interpersonal relationships and intra-personal development because EI includes knowledge 9

about the self and others, being able to monitor others’ moods and temperaments and use this knowledge in order to predict the behaviour of a particular individual.The problem-solving can also be influenced by the recognition of own and others’ emotional states, meaning that utilisation of emotions is based on the understanding of moods, temperaments, feelings, and emotions. This puts the personal empathetic ability to the position of significant traits required for almost all jobs and everyday tasks, including social interactions. This theory proposed by Salovey and Mayer suggests that the study described in this guide has a potential to discover successful findings as participants are learning to identify the emotional response through facial expression and later utilise their knowledge in choreography and improvisation work. The understanding of the emotional response comes from personal experience attached to a choreography or it is learned from the empathetic approach by ‘putting themselves in other’s shoes’ and imagining a response.

The main focus of this project is the exploration of non-verbal EI with emphasis on physiological response to a stimulus and understand the physical feel of emotion within the 10

body, use it for choreography as a stimulus and later use the understanding of emotions as a tool for improving emotional intelligence. The idea of the physiology behind emotions can aid in breaking down this psychological concept in order to understand how people ‘feel’. This

David Wechsler, The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence, ( Baltimore: The Williams &. Wilkins, company, 1958), 5

p 3-14.

Amy Brann, ‘The Neuroscience of Emotional Intelligence’, Huffpost <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-brann/the-6neuroscience-of-emotional-intelligence_b_9331292.html> [accessed 22nd of January 2017]

Monty McKeever, ‘How does understanding the brain help us manage stress?’, Daniel Goleman <http://7www.danielgoleman.info/the-brain-and-emotional-intelligence-an-interview-with-daniel-goleman> [accessed 22nd of January 2017]

Lauren O’Neil, ‘THE BRAIN AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BY DANIEL GOLEMAN’, Learning and the Brain <https://8www.learningandthebrain.com/blog/the-brain-and-emotional-intelligence-by-daniel-goleman> [accessed 23rd of February 2017]

Terry Schmitz, ‘Empathy - The Cornerstone of Emotional Intelligence’, Conover <https://www.conovercompany.com/9

empathy-the-cornestone-of-emotional-intelligence/> [accessed 20th of March 2017]

Dale Purves, Neuroscience 3rd Edition (United States: Sinauer Associates Inc.,U.S, 2001), p. 697-70310

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suggests that physical theatre enables us to use movement in order to take an abstract concept of ‘emotion’ and turn it into a sequence of movements that can be choreographed based on isolation of an ‘aspect’ of an emotion (e.g. excitement can be associated with quick heart rate or anger can cause the feeling of tension) or representing it as a whole. The reason why the study might generate some findings is that imitation of physiology during emotional response may aid participants in understanding and identification of emotions. In order to be able to use the body as a tool for choreography, participants should recall their past experience of an emotion and start breaking down it to several ‘physiological response’ e.g. the feeling of body temperature rising. 11

4.2 Physical Theatre

One of the psychological essays reported that dramatic arts do affect emotional intelligence positively . In my opinion, we can use a specific feature of theatrical practices, physical 12

theatre, as another way of dramatherapy for people who find verbal performance challenging. In the UK, the term ‘physical theatre’ attracted public's attention in 1986 through the emergence of DV8 Physical Theatre (Physical theatre book ). Frans Chamberslain points 13

out that actor training in the twentieth century was physically based. He also noted that actors with physical and gestural skills were able to interpret the play writer's text in a deeper manner, and performing the same text differently by attaching physical movement rather than vocal abilities. This means that participants may experience non-verbal communication differently due to the idea that words in our life and playscripts may not reflect these feelings accurately and thus stopping people from understanding of how emotions work; some people may not be able to describe a feeling or their intention and therefore they are struggling to express themselves to others and to interpret logically others’ feelings. Physical theatre is believed to be ‘the form(s) of imitation that differ, be they more abstract and stylised, ritualised or conventionally realistic’ , requiring the use of physical and mental 14

memory of a feeling and emotion to portray it through movement. In terms of the audience, it vicariously feels actor’s emotional state, despite the fact that the emotion is imitated; however, members of the audience can still empathise with any characters y using the same technique as actors: recall of physical or mental memories. This would help participants to recall and understand specific emotions that they experience in a particular context and generally, but also they would experience empathy by watching their peers at the end of each session. My theory is based on ‘Models of embodied emotion’ proposing that we understand others’ emotions by simulating them in our own bodies, meaning that we should be able to construct bodily representations of others’ somatovisceral states when observing them expressing specific emotions.’ 15

4.3 Emotions and body

Christine Laetitia Lisetti, Fatma Nasoz, ‘Using Noninvasive Wereable Computers to Recognize Human Emotions from 11

Physiological Signals’, Journal on Applied Signal Processing, vol. 11, (2004), 1672-1687

UK Essays, ‘Effects Of Theatre Arts On Emotional Intelligence Psychology Essay’, UK Essays, <https://www.ukessays.com/12essays/psychology/effects-of-theatre-arts-on-emotional-intelligence-psychology-essay.php> [accessed 2nd of May 2017]

Simon Murray, John Keefe, Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction (Abingdon: Routledge, 2016), p. 103-11813

Simon Murray and John Keefe, Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction (Abingdon: Routledge, 2016), p. 28-3714

Lauri Nummenmaa, Enrico Glerean, Riitta Hari, Jari K. Hietanen, ‘Bodily Maps of Emotions’, Proceedings of the National 15Academy of Sciences, vol. 111, 2 (January 14, 2014), pp. 646-651

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Subjective emotions and feelings mirror changes in the skeletomuscular, neuroendocrine, and autonomic nervous systems (ANS) creating a biologically constructed ‘emotional’ state which we perceive according to a context . These conscious feelings help the individuals to 16

voluntarily tune their behavior in order to match the environment better. Although emotions are associated with a broad range of physiological changes, it is still debatable whether the bodily changes associated with different emotions are specific enough to serve as the basis for discrete emotional feelings (e.g fear, happiness, anger). It is also argued that emotions are the evolutionary development that triggers pleasure but also acts for survival purposes. For instance, fear can trigger ‘fight or flight’ phenomenon which increases our chances of survival . This means, that the potential study can be successful because humans do have 17

emotions and feelings apriori and thus they should be able to improve it for ‘survival purposes’ 5. The hypothesis Before the experiment takes place, I’ve designed the null hypothesis that has to be rejected or falsified in order to draw any conclusions from the findings.

The alternative hypothesis has emerged from different neuroscience and psychology articles, such as the psychological essay has also shown that there is a positive impact of theatre arts on emotional intelligence, meaning that my alternative hypothesis may also be accepted and proved right. However, the theory behind my study has been supported by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer on emotional intelligence, ‘Drama as Therapy’ by Phil Jones and ‘Get to Know Drama Therapy’ by Joan Swart.

6. Testing

The test that I chose to use was the original test Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) . This test was chosen because it was testing all 18 19

characteristics of emotional intelligence. However, as I was planning to use filler questions about physical theatre and individual’s opinion on it, it would be hard to incorporate these filler questions to the software that is usually used. Therefore, the researcher may have to find the paper copy of the MSCEIT and manually add filler questions through editing in Microsoft Word, Pages or other applications. The filler questions are needed to cover the

Lauri Nummenmaa, Enrico Glerean, Riitta Hari, Jari K. Hietanen, ‘Bodily Maps of Emotions’, Proceedings of the National 16Academy of Sciences, vol. 111, 2 (January 14, 2014), pp. 646-651

Peter Salovey, John D Mayer, ‘Emotional Intelligence’, Imagination, Cognition and Personality, vol. 9, (1989-1990), pp. 17

185-211

Multi Health Systems, ‘The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT)’, Consortium for Research on 18

Emotional Intelligence in Organizations <http://www.eiconsortium.org/measures/msceit.html> [accessed 20th of March 2017]

MHS, ‘MSCEIT - Mayer - Salovey - Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test’, MHS assessments < https://www.mhs.com/MHS-19Talent?prodname=msceit> [accessed 14th of February 2017]

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real aims of the study and increase the experimental realism and decrease demand characteristics that may affect the validity of the results and scores.

7. Sample and experimental design/type

7.1 Target population

My target population is young adults and teenagers because they are more prone to learning new skills and information, but also they are in the age when emotions need to be controlled in a variety of contexts; it is one of the most stressful periods through a lifetime. One advantage of this sample frame is that the study itself can be presented as a co-curricular activity thus obtaining the sample can be easy with parental and school consent. On the other hand, it is still possible to run the sessions as a ‘after-school activity’ and allow pupils from different schools to participate, thus increasing the sample size and variety for better generalisation.

7.2 Experimental design

The experimental design for this research is matched pairs within two conditions: Condition 1: control group (no participation in physical theatre course) Condition 2: experimental group (with participation in physical theatre course) The control group must be matched with the experimental group based on their age and gender and these students must not participate in the sessions in order to have a clear picture of any differences between these groups.

7.3 Sampling method The sampling method that is advised to use is volunteer sampling. At school (sixth form school) pupils can be offered to take part in ‘physical theatre activity’ without putting too much pressure on them (such as compulsory attendance to the activity they do not want to choose or forcing them to participate), as well as sending emails with information sheet to parents can offer them an opportunity to let their children to participate . Usually, schools 20

insist on full attendance during activities, so there is a big chance that during all sessions the researcher may have the full sample, however, there might still be some students that miss sessions.

7.4 Evaluation of sampling method

Trochim argued that despite the fact that this sampling method can be a convenient, quick and inexpensive way of gathering the needed sampling, this study may attract those students and their parents that are already interested in theatre and arts or have higher emotional intelligence, thus the sample might not be representative enough to draw any generalisation to a wider society. 21

Saul McLeod, ‘Sampling Methods’, Simply Psychology <https://www.simplypsychology.org/sampling.html> [accessed 20th of 20

September 2017]

Will iam M.K. Trochim, ‘Nonprobabil ity Sampling’, Web Center for Social Research Methods <http://21www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/measure.php> [accessed 20th of September 2017]

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7.5 Experimental Type

The study is a lab experiment. The reason why this research includes lab experiment is that the conditions of the drama studio used for the sessions can be controlled (e.g. room temperature, lighting, external noise cancellation). The researcher decides the venue of the experiment, time, duration of sessions, and uses the standardised procedure that is written in the ‘Methodology section’.

7.6 Evaluation of experimental type

The advantage of using this method is that it is easy to replicate because of the standardised procedure. This means that in a case for success, other psychologists can also replicate the methodology and setting in order to find any similarities in their findings and original findings. 22

In the controlled settings the extraneous variables are minimised and therefore the cause and effect relationship can be established. However, the confounding variables such as participant’s experience can affect the effectiveness of the task completion and the precision of application of personal emotional experience in choreography.

This leads to the limitations of this method; due to the artificial environment and testing before the sessions, the demand characteristics may arise thus affecting the validity of the findings.

8. Methodology

In the methodology section, I attempted to write a standardised procedure with clear details that could be replicated easily. This section contains a table which describes all exercises used in each session and additional information such as theatre practitioner used and notes on timing of some exercises. This was done in order to increase the potential for the study to be replicated in numerous times with different sample groups, increasing the reliability of the findings and generalisability to a wider population. The reliability and both internal and external validity are important for the formation of further theories, such as specific theories about links between arts and emotional intelligence, the development of emotional intelligence through cognitive methods and etc.

This methodology is based on principles of theatre and choreography, which requires personal emotional involvement in each exercise. Under the table, the researcher can see the instructions for the technique in each exercise, which can show any potential difficulties that participants may face.

In order for choreography to have emotional attachment, the alternation tools should be used to trigger a primal instinct (e.g. long eye contact can portray aggression or trust), as well as Burne’s theory of strokes and units: the more ‘strokes’ (variety of gestures or 23

number of moves addressed to partner) are used, the more intimate and close relationships

Saul McLeod, ‘Experimental Method’, Simply Psychology <https://www.simplypsychology.org/experimental-method.html> 22

[accessed 20th of September 2017]

Eric Berne, Games people play: the psychology of human relationships (London: Penguin Life, 2016), p. 33-3723

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are portrayed (e.g. one gesture of shaking hand symbolises actors being acquaintances, more complicated choreography shows deeper connection) Despite the fact that the methodology was written clearly

However, despite the fact that I attempted to write clear and detailed methodology, the sessions should be conducted by a trained ‘mentor’ (teacher, investigator, actor, choreographer etc.) who understands what is physical theatre, possible risks (such as physical injuries during lifts) and is capable of choreographing. Preferably this should be an actor, physical theatre coach or trained researcher, meaning that the preparation for the study can be time-consuming and may require specific human and personal resources, and may be high in costs (e.g. hiring a trained actor)

9. Ethics

Since the experiment involves adolescents/pupils, the researchers must obtain informed consent from parents and school, which facilities might be used (e.g. drama studio) and their consent for allowing to run the sessions under the cover for co-curricular activities. If the study involves pupils from different schools. the researcher must find a venue and gather the informed consent from all parents, the control group and gather retrogrative consent from the experimental group after the end of the study.

After the end of the research, all parents and participants must be given debriefing where the researcher must answer all questions, remind about their right to withdraw, ensure confidentiality, and offer any counseling for the participants if they feel they experienced psychological harm. 10. Challenges and evaluation

The first challenge that I faced was choosing the topic that I wanted to investigate. At first, I was eager to make a practical investigation of how dramatherapy can help to overcome traumas through acting out their traumatic experiences. This topic, however, seemed highly unethical and included sensitive topics that I could not explore as an unqualified person. This changed the direction of my approach and I focused on theatre and empathy, and then I narrowed the topic down to physical theatre and emotional intelligence to have more specificity and precision in my investigation.

The process from research to the final product was challenging in terms of constantly changing the format of my work from written paper, to artifact (the experiment), to another artifact (the guide). In the beginning, I was reluctant to do a research paper due to the fact that I wanted to test my hypothesis from using an experimental approach, rather than evaluating existing studies on the similar topic and creating a meta-analysis of them. Therefore, I came to the decision to create an experiment whereas I would conduct an 8-week session with one 1 hour session per week. I wanted to conduct the study on teenagers at my school, aged 15-18 in order to have a wide range of participants. I could not obtain this sample because I would have to ask for parents consent for GCSE students as well as have a supervisor for each session to ensure health and safety.

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Despite the fact that I’ve conducted a one-day trial with my friends in March in order to check the structure of the workshops, I had to postpone the start of the experiment at least four times. Originally, I was supposed to conduct my research in April, however, I was advised to do a deeper research over the summer and start the project in September, with new lower sixth students and upper sixth students. However, due to the change in timetables for Lower sixth, I could not get at least 8 participants for September deadline. Therefore, I had to start in November as I was trying to attract as many volunteers as possible by reducing the number of sessions (from 8 to 4) and sending the survey amongst all Sixth Form students asking for their suggestions on how to alternate the duration and number of sessions in order to get them participating. The response rate was less that 5% percent, only 8 people responded and asked for two-week commitment with two sessions per week.

I decided to adapt my plan to their suggestion and tried to recruit people again. For the November deadline, I had 6 lower sixth students and no upper sixth students volunteering to participate in my experiment, however, 3 people dropped out due to inability for a long-term commitment; their timetable was too tight allowing only 3 free periods a week and compulsory activities after school and I could not get access to the drama studio because school production rehearsals started to take place in there. At this stage, I was suggested to make my artifact in a form of the written guide that certified psychologists could use for conducting this research, as this was an opportunity to save the project and still include all the theory and planning that I have done for the past twelve months. Overall, I believe that despite all the challenges that were faced during this project, I see that the final product produced is detailed enough in terms of theoretical knowledge and planning of practical application of it in a form of physical theatre workshops. Nevertheless, the weakness of my artifact in comparison to more professional guides is that I lack personal experience of conducting similar long-term researchers and may not identify the problems with the methodology that might occur during the real investigation. The guide itself contains the description of sampling, testing, and methodology which may be open to investigator’s bias and it is not specific enough to achieve the same precise routine.

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