BACKGROUND

In 2024, we conducted our first Art and Neuroscience study with TECNALIA, a leading R&D centre in Spain, in which we measured and scientifically demonstrated the positive impact of art on people and its ability to modify their emotional state. As an artistic stimulus, we used our immersive art experience in Virtual Reality “Evolution from imperfection” created in 2022, where 7 physical paintings by Silvia Sánchez come to life, immersing the viewer in the world of the artist's emotions.
Video Summary Art and Neuroscience Study

OBJETIVES OF OUR ART AND NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH II

In this study we will analyze for the first time worldwide a vast work of an artist, 35 works by Silvia, which immerse us in the world of emotions with the aim of:

  • Measuring the emotional spectrum that triggers the work as a whole and at an individual level.
  • Neuroscientifically cataloging her work from an emotional spectrum, discovering the predominant emotional territory in it.

Experimental process:

  • Sample: 50 people (women and men).
  • Devices: Electroencephalographic monitoring headband (EEG). Ring for measuring galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate (HR).

Video Summary Art and Neuroscience Study II

THE EMOTIONAL MODEL BY ROBERT PLUTCHIK

There are eight primary emotions that form the basis of our emotional life: Joy, Trust, Curiosity, Surprise, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness. They were identified by Plutchik in the 1980s as universal across all cultures. His Wheel of Emotions illustrates their relationships of opposition and combination. Each primary emotion serves an adaptive function that has contributed to survival, for example: fear prepares us to escape danger and anger can motivate self-defense.

Although this model is intended to be universal, Plutchik himself recognized that real emotions rarely occur in pure form, and he went on to identify a set of emotional dyads that try, in some way, to alleviate this circumstance.

The nature of each of the emotions identified by Plutchick is described in detail below:

  • Joy: Positive emotion associated with feelings of happiness, well-being, calm and serenity.
  • Trust: Feeling of security, connection, acceptance of what is familiar and intimately significant.
  • Curiosity: Desire to explore linked to the future, to the expectation of what is about to happen.
  • Surprise: Reaction to unexpected stimuli, novelty, astonishment.
  • Anger: Anger or frustration that arises in the face of an affront.
  • Fear: Reaction to the perception of threat or danger.
  • Disgust: Rejection response to stimuli perceived as unacceptable or disturbing.
  • Sadness: Arises in the perception of loss, affliction, disappointment and melancholy.

THE RESULTS


Silvia's work shows a predominance of positive, pleasant, exploration-oriented feelings, with high levels of Joy, Confidence, Curiosity and Surprise. These emotions point to a positive and stimulating experience for the participants.

With much lower values in the emotions linked to Disgust, Anger, Fear and Sadness, it suggests that the work as a whole does not generate a negative or aversive emotional reaction.

The following table collects the recorded values of the emotional drift caused by the work as a whole in each emotion:

Joy Trust Curiosity Surprise Anger Fear Disgust Sadness
Results for total 35 pieces 15.9 % 17.4 % 18.8 % 16.7 % 7.6 % 9.3 % 7.4 % 6.8 %


Despite some exceptions, there is great coherence in almost all of the work, with the 4 positive emotions also standing out in each individual work, reaching values of 70%.


EMOTIONAL SPECTRUM DISTRIBUTION BY ARTWORK

Spectrum

RESULTS BY GENDER

Although the four positive emotions remain the most prominent in both genders, across all the works, women report more Joy and men more Surprise. This indicates that women tend to perceive the work with greater empathy and emotional connection than men.

Joy Trust Curiosity Surprise Anger Fear Disgust Sadness
Overall (All participants) 15.9 % 17.4 % 18.8 % 16.7 % 7.4 % 7.6 % 9.3 % 6.8 %
Overall (Female) 16.6 % 17.6 % 19.2 % 16.0 % 7.4 % 7.3 % 9.1 % 6.8 %
Overall (Male) 14.9 % 17.2 % 18.3 % 17.6 % 7.4 % 8.0 % 9.5 % 6.9 %


THE WORKS

Activate and deactivate the different emotions to discover the works that convey the selected emotions:
LEARN TO FLY II
Anger 6.6 %
.
Curiosity 23.3 %
.
Disgust 6.0 %
.
Fear 11.4 %
.
Joy 10.1 %
.
Sadness 6.9 %
.
Surprise 18.6 %
.
Trust 17.0 %
.
BAOBAB
Anger 7.4 %
.
Curiosity 16.4 %
.
Disgust 10.1 %
.
Fear 11.4 %
.
Joy 12.0 %
.
Sadness 6.6 %
.
Surprise 20.5 %
.
Trust 15.6 %
.
BEAUTY IN THE SMALL THINGS
Anger 8.1 %
.
Curiosity 19.7 %
.
Disgust 5.7 %
.
Fear 8.6 %
.
Joy 17.7 %
.
Sadness 5.8 %
.
Surprise 14.8 %
.
Trust 19.7 %
.
HAVE A NICE TRIP!
Anger 10.0 %
.
Curiosity 18.6 %
.
Disgust 6.2 %
.
Fear 6.3 %
.
Joy 20.7 %
.
Sadness 5.4 %
.
Surprise 17.9 %
.
Trust 14.9 %
.
MUTUAL CARE
Anger 7.2 %
.
Curiosity 24.5 %
.
Disgust 6.5 %
.
Fear 7.9 %
.
Joy 18.2 %
.
Sadness 3.8 %
.
Surprise 14.3 %
.
Trust 17.7 %
.
WHERE MUSIC TAKES ME
Anger 5.4 %
.
Curiosity 22.1 %
.
Disgust 6.5 %
.
Fear 7.7 %
.
Joy 15.1 %
.
Sadness 6.5 %
.
Surprise 13.8 %
.
Trust 22.9 %
.
INNER BALANCE
Anger 7.1 %
.
Curiosity 17.1 %
.
Disgust 9.6 %
.
Fear 10.2 %
.
Joy 12.8 %
.
Sadness 7.3 %
.
Surprise 16.0 %
.
Trust 19.9 %
.
LISTEN TO NATURE
Anger 5.4 %
.
Curiosity 18.9 %
.
Disgust 6.6 %
.
Fear 13.1 %
.
Joy 14.1 %
.
Sadness 7.3 %
.
Surprise 19.8 %
.
Trust 14.7 %
.
BRONZE SCULPTURE METAMORPHOSIS
Anger 8.3 %
.
Curiosity 13.1 %
.
Disgust 5.7 %
.
Fear 7.7 %
.
Joy 17.4 %
.
Sadness 6.7 %
.
Surprise 20.4 %
.
Trust 20.6 %
.
BRONZE SCULPTURE NICE PLACE TO BE
Anger 5.9 %
.
Curiosity 20.5 %
.
Disgust 5.7 %
.
Fear 9.7 %
.
Joy 14.0 %
.
Sadness 6.5 %
.
Surprise 20.6 %
.
Trust 17.1 %
.
BRONZE SCULPTURE A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS
Anger 6.0 %
.
Curiosity 23.9 %
.
Disgust 6.7 %
.
Fear 9.3 %
.
Joy 14.0 %
.
Sadness 9.0 %
.
Surprise 15.7 %
.
Trust 15.4 %
.
BRONZE SCULPTURE YOGA TIME
Anger 7.6 %
.
Curiosity 22.5 %
.
Disgust 6.5 %
.
Fear 8.6 %
.
Joy 22.7 %
.
Sadness 7.3 %
.
Surprise 11.5 %
.
Trust 13.4 %
.
SMELL LIKE HOME
Anger 10.5 %
.
Curiosity 14.3 %
.
Disgust 5.7 %
.
Fear 8.4 %
.
Joy 16.4 %
.
Sadness 6.4 %
.
Surprise 17.6 %
.
Trust 20.8 %
.
KEEP CALM & DREAM
Anger 7.7 %
.
Curiosity 22.6 %
.
Disgust 7.2 %
.
Fear 9.0 %
.
Joy 8.6 %
.
Sadness 6.2 %
.
Surprise 18.8 %
.
Trust 19.9 %
.
KINTSUGI: SCARS OF TIME
Anger 5.5 %
.
Curiosity 17.1 %
.
Disgust 6.9 %
.
Fear 10.4 %
.
Joy 24.7 %
.
Sadness 6.4 %
.
Surprise 16.4 %
.
Trust 12.6 %
.
FREEDOM
Anger 9.2 %
.
Curiosity 15.8 %
.
Disgust 10.4 %
.
Fear 9.3 %
.
Joy 18.2 %
.
Sadness 6.0 %
.
Surprise 14.4 %
.
Trust 16.8 %
.
METAMORPHOSIS
Anger 6.7 %
.
Curiosity 22.8 %
.
Disgust 7.2 %
.
Fear 8.6 %
.
Joy 14.6 %
.
Sadness 7.6 %
.
Surprise 15.1 %
.
Trust 17.5 %
.
MY PLACE
Anger 6.2 %
.
Curiosity 15.9 %
.
Disgust 7.1 %
.
Fear 9.9 %
.
Joy 18.3 %
.
Sadness 8.2 %
.
Surprise 17.7 %
.
Trust 16.7 %
.
MY ALONE TIME
Anger 8.1 %
.
Curiosity 20.1 %
.
Disgust 7.6 %
.
Fear 9.7 %
.
Joy 16.4 %
.
Sadness 6.9 %
.
Surprise 14.5 %
.
Trust 16.8 %
.
OPPOSITES
Anger 6.0 %
.
Curiosity 18.2 %
.
Disgust 6.5 %
.
Fear 8.7 %
.
Joy 18.6 %
.
Sadness 4.5 %
.
Surprise 16.8 %
.
Trust 20.8 %
.
PAUSE
Anger 9.2 %
.
Curiosity 14.6 %
.
Disgust 9.9 %
.
Fear 8.2 %
.
Joy 17.1 %
.
Sadness 9.2 %
.
Surprise 14.6 %
.
Trust 17.2 %
.
PAUSE II
Anger 9.5 %
.
Curiosity 16.0 %
.
Disgust 6.0 %
.
Fear 11.7 %
.
Joy 18.1 %
.
Sadness 7.7 %
.
Surprise 20.8 %
.
Trust 10.1 %
.
PERSPECTIVE
Anger 7.7 %
.
Curiosity 16.4 %
.
Disgust 9.9 %
.
Fear 11.7 %
.
Joy 12.4 %
.
Sadness 7.7 %
.
Surprise 15.6 %
.
Trust 18.7 %
.
EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Anger 8.8 %
.
Curiosity 17.1 %
.
Disgust 5.9 %
.
Fear 7.7 %
.
Joy 21.1 %
.
Sadness 5.8 %
.
Surprise 14.8 %
.
Trust 18.7 %
.
QUIETUDE
Anger 7.7 %
.
Curiosity 20.0 %
.
Disgust 8.0 %
.
Fear 10.3 %
.
Joy 16.3 %
.
Sadness 3.6 %
.
Surprise 12.6 %
.
Trust 21.5 %
.
I WISH LIKE TO BE A FISH
Anger 7.3 %
.
Curiosity 14.6 %
.
Disgust 6.5 %
.
Fear 13.6 %
.
Joy 12.5 %
.
Sadness 5.4 %
.
Surprise 18.7 %
.
Trust 21.5 %
.
FEEL LIKE HOME
Anger 6.3 %
.
Curiosity 18.9 %
.
Disgust 6.4 %
.
Fear 6.6 %
.
Joy 19.6 %
.
Sadness 4.7 %
.
Surprise 16.6 %
.
Trust 20.8 %
.
TO BE PART OF NATURE
Anger 5.9 %
.
Curiosity 16.0 %
.
Disgust 8.2 %
.
Fear 9.4 %
.
Joy 17.9 %
.
Sadness 4.9 %
.
Surprise 18.0 %
.
Trust 19.6 %
.
SERENDIPITY
Anger 11.1 %
.
Curiosity 19.9 %
.
Disgust 6.9 %
.
Fear 7.2 %
.
Joy 14.9 %
.
Sadness 7.4 %
.
Surprise 20.6 %
.
Trust 11.9 %
.
DIVE INTO HAPPINESS
Anger 7.7 %
.
Curiosity 19.1 %
.
Disgust 9.2 %
.
Fear 7.0 %
.
Joy 12.5 %
.
Sadness 9.2 %
.
Surprise 18.0 %
.
Trust 17.3 %
.
TAKE YOUR TIME
Anger 5.4 %
.
Curiosity 20.9 %
.
Disgust 10.1 %
.
Fear 11.2 %
.
Joy 15.1 %
.
Sadness 6.9 %
.
Surprise 15.1 %
.
Trust 15.2 %
.
TRANSFORMATION II
Anger 8.0 %
.
Curiosity 20.0 %
.
Disgust 6.3 %
.
Fear 9.9 %
.
Joy 15.4 %
.
Sadness 8.8 %
.
Surprise 7.6 %
.
Trust 24.0 %
.
NICE PLACE TO BE
Anger 9.4 %
.
Curiosity 19.7 %
.
Disgust 11.1 %
.
Fear 8.5 %
.
Joy 10.7 %
.
Sadness 7.8 %
.
Surprise 20.7 %
.
Trust 12.0 %
.
A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS
Anger 7.9 %
.
Curiosity 21.4 %
.
Disgust 7.0 %
.
Fear 7.1 %
.
Joy 15.1 %
.
Sadness 8.1 %
.
Surprise 22.0 %
.
Trust 11.4 %
.
REBORN
Anger 9.0 %
.
Curiosity 15.6 %
.
Disgust 8.9 %
.
Fear 9.2 %
.
Joy 13.6 %
.
Sadness 10.5 %
.
Surprise 14.8 %
.
Trust 18.4 %
.

CONCLUSIONS

In the work as a whole, the emotions of Joy, Confidence, Curiosity and Surprise, predominate, suggesting a clearly positive emotional spectrum. Emotions within the negative spectrum of valences (Disgust, Anger, Fear, Sadness) are residual and less than 10% in all cases.

Regarding gender, women tend to awaken a greater emotional connection with Silvia's works, awakening higher peaks of positive valence than men, with a greater incidence of Joy in women against Surprise in men, although the essence is that the work favors optimistic emotional states.

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