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).
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
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
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.