Engaging With The Arts Is Related To Greater Wellbeing (But It’s Not Entirely Clear Why)

Social isolation and fears for our family and friends, as well as ourselves, have all affected psychological wellbeing during the COVID-19 lockdown. But being unable to visit an art gallery, theatre or live music venues may also have taken its toll. According to new research, such experiences contribute to wellbeing in a way that watching a sporting event, for example, does not. The paper, published in Emotion, presents the first longitudinal examination of the effect of engaging with the “artistic imagination” on wellbeing — though it’s not yet possible to make definitive conclusions about cause-and-effect. Continue reading →