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Journal article
Exploring the evocative qualities of masks' visual imagery and their associations with adversity and trauma
Frontiers in psychology, v 15, 1337927
10 Jun 2024
PMID: 38919795
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Introduction
Studies suggest a relationship between the emotional evocativeness of visual imagery and viewer responses, however, there is limited understanding of these associations, especially as they relate to viewers’ personal experiences of adversities.
Methods
In this exploratory study, we examined the relationship between the visual content of mask images and viewers’ responses. In an online survey 699 participants (of n = 1,010 total initial participants) rated 98 masks based on valence, arousal, and personal relevance and completed the Life Events Checklist. The masks included those created by service members (SMs) with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depicting physical, psychological, and moral injuries and matched neutral masks created by creative arts therapists and arts in health scholars.
Findings
The findings indicated that responses to mask image content (traumatic versus neutral) were associated with viewers’ personal history of adversity and trauma. Specifically, images representing injury/trauma provoked stronger reactions on valence and arousal than neutral images. Moreover, participants with personal histories of trauma had heightened emotional responses to distressing imagery.
Discussion
These findings have implications for art therapists as well as for clinical and general populations in that these results highlight the potential impact of distressing imagery particularly for individuals with personal histories of experiencing or witnessing traumatic events.
Metrics
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Details
- Title
- Exploring the evocative qualities of masks' visual imagery and their associations with adversity and trauma
- Creators
- Asli Arslanbek - Drexel UniversityBani Malhotra - Drexel UniversityKristyn S. Stickley - Drexel UniversityJoanna Herres - College of New JerseyHeather Spooner - University of FloridaDamon G. Lamb - University of FloridaCharles E. Levy - University of FloridaJohn B. Williamson - University of FloridaGirija Kaimal - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in psychology, v 15, 1337927
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Number of pages
- 15
- Grant note
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, and Mid-America Arts Alliance U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs Drexel University NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Creative Arts Therapies
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001253716300001
- Other Identifier
- 991021889607904721
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- Collaboration types
- Industry collaboration
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Psychology, Multidisciplinary