PSYC4464 - Empirical Aesthetics

The course combines classical theories of beauty with current empirical aesthetics. We will discuss a wide range of phenomena from immersion in imaginative worlds to creativity in the arts, narratives and everyday experience. We also review the evidence on the effects of aesthetic experience for happiness and therapeutic effects. Your task is to use some of these insights to conduct an experiment of your own design to test effects and impacts of aesthetics in various contexts. We will also visit the art museum to explore some aesthetic concepts—and to have experiences.