University of the
West of England
MODULE SPECIFICATION
Code: USPJMA-20-3 Title: Psychology and the Arts Version: 1
Level: UWE credit rating: ECTS credit rating:
Owning Faculty: Health and Life Sciences Field:
Faculty Committee approval: Q&S Committee (School of Life Sciences) Date: November 2009
Approved for Delivery by: N/A
Valid from: October 2010 Discontinued from:
Pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Entry Requirements:
N/A
Excluded Combinations:
Learning Outcomes:
The student will be able to:
- synthesise information from a variety of sub-disciplines of psychology and methodologies;
- critically evaluate knowledge of psychological approaches to, and aspects of, the arts;
- evaluate and critique different models of creativity;
- develop an awareness of the applied dimensions of theoretical models of creativity/art;
- reflect on their own creativity and problem solving skills;
- develop their analytical skills and presentation skills (though active discussion, essay writing and giving a seminar presentation).
Syllabus Outline:
The psychology of the arts is a multidisciplinary field, enabling a synthesis of different levels of analysis and methodological approaches. These include social, neuropsychological, cognitive, psychometric, phenomenological and historiometric perspectives. The topic enables consideration of both theoretical and applied work.
The course content will reflect this diversity, covering topics relating to the psychology of the production and perception of art, such as: perception and the senses (psychological research on 'art and the brain', the perceptual mechanisms involved in art making and visual illusions); art and consciousness (e.g., debates in the field of consciousness studies about the arts, such as film/the visual arts/the novel and their treatment of subjective experience, sense of self and narrative among others); creativity (the nature of creativity and its measurement, the 'creative personality', the 'creative brain', 'creative cognition' and creativity and health, for example, the 'creativity and madness' debate); and the dyadic relationship between art and psychology more broadly, asking for example, what art can teach us about psychology in addition to the reverse? The syllabus will also cover 'real world' applications of psycghological knowledge about the arts and creativity, for example, the use of art in health settings.
Students will be encouraged to take a critical and integrative approach and to examine their own creativity and problem-solving skills (for example, what does a creative psychologist do?), thus nurturing transferable skills for future employment.
Teaching and Learning Methods:
Students will learn through a variety of classroom and web based methods. There will be lectures that introduce material as well as seminars for smaller group discussions. These will also be supplemented by a range of online resources made available through blackboard. There will also be student presentations.
Reading Strategy:
All students will be encouraged to make full use of the print and electronic resources available to them through membership of the University. These include a range of electronic journals and a wide variety of resources available through web sites and information gateways. The University Library’s web pages provide access to subject relevant resources and services, and to the library catalogue. Many resources can be accessed remotely. Students will be presented with opportunities within the curriculum to develop their information retrieval and evaluation skills in order to identify such resources effectively.
Any essential reading will be indicated clearly, along with the method for accessing it, e.g. students may be expected to purchase a set text, be given or sold a print study pack or be referred to texts that are available electronically, etc. This guidance will be available either in the module handbook, via the module information on Blackboard or through any other vehicle deemed appropriate by the module/programme leaders.
If further reading is expected, this will be indicated clearly. If specific texts are listed, a clear indication will be given regarding how to access them and, if appropriate, students will be given guidance on how to identify relevant sources for themselves, e.g. through use of bibliographical databases.
Indicative Reading List:
Students will be expected to read journal articles and key texts to support their learning on this module and will be directed to relevant reading for each lecture/seminar as well as to relevant online resources.
Indicative texts
Boden, M. (2004). The creative mind: myths and mechanisms. London: Routledge. [Frenchay 153.35 BOD]
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: HarperPerennial. [Frenchay 153.35 CSI] Tudor, R. (2009). The Routledge companion to creativity. London: Routledge. [electronic resource/Frenchay 153.35 TUD]
Gombrich, E. (2002). The image & the eye : further studies in the psychology of pictorial representation. London: Phaidon. [Frenchay 701.15 GOM]
Pope, R. (2005). Creativity: theory, history, practice. London: Routledge. [Electronic resource/Frenchay 153.35 POP]
Runco, M. (2007). Creativity: theories and themes: research, development, and practice. Amsterdam; London: Academic Press. [Frenchay Short Loan 153.35 WEI]
Sarason, S. (1990). The challenge of art to psychology. Yale University Press. [Bower Ashton 701.15 SAR]
Sawyer, K. (2006). Explaining creativity: the science of human innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [electronic resource/Frenchay 153.35 SAW]
Schmid, T. (2005). Promoting health through creativity: for professionals in health, arts and education. London: Whurr Publishers. [Glenside 615.851 SCH]
Sternberg R. (1999). Handbook of creativity. Cambridge University Press. [Frenchay 153.35 STE]
Thompson, L. (2006). Creativity and innovation in organizational teams. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [Electronic resource]
Weisberg, R. (2006). Creativity : understanding innovation in problem solving, science, invention, and the arts. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. [Frenchay 153.35 WEI]
Indicative journal articles [Available as electronic resources]
Belli, S. (2009). A psychobiographical analysis of Brian Douglas Wilson: Creativity, drugs, and models of schizophrenic and affective disorders. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 809-819.
Bogousslavsky, J. (2005). Artistic creativity, style and brain disorders. European Neurology, 54, 103-111.
Cohen, D. J., & Jones, H. E. (2008). How Shape Constancy Relates to Drawing Accuracy. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, & the Arts, 8-19.
Fink, A., Benedek, M., Grabner, R. H., Staudt, B., & Neubauer, A. C. (2007). Creativity meets neuroscience: Experimental tasks for the neuroscientific study of creative thinking, 42, 68-76.
Hoffman, L., & Calvert, C. (2007). Evolutionary and Neurocognitive Approaches to Aesthetics. Creativity and the Arts: Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, & the Arts, 1, 252-254.
Ivcevic, Z. (2009). Creativity map: Toward the next generation of theories of creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, 3, 17-21.
Kohanyi, A. (2005). Four factors that may predict the emergence of creative writing: A proposed model. Creativity Research Journal, 17, 195-205.
Metzl, E., S. (2009). The role of creative thinking in resilience after Hurricane Katrina. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3, 112-123.
Nettle, D. (2006). Schizotypy and mental health amongst poets, visual artists, and mathematicians. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 876-890.
Vartanian, O. (2009). Variable attention facilitates creative problem solving. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, 3, 57-59.
Indicative specialist journals [Available as electronic resources]
The Journal of Consciousness Studies. (In particular special issues on 'Art and Brain')
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Creativity Research Journal
Personality and Individual Differences (In particular special issues on creativity)
Thinking Skills and Creativity
Creativity and Innovation Management
American Journal of Art Therapy
International Journal of Art Therapy
Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education
Journal of Experimental Psychology, Human Perception and Performance
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
Ceramics, Art and Perception
Journal of Research in Personality
Assessment:
Weighting between components A and B (standard modules only) A: 25% B: 75%
FIRST ATTEMPT
First Assessment Opportunity
Component A (controlled) Element Wt (Ratio)
Description of each element (within Component)
Seminar presentation on an approved topic of choice pertaining to creativity/psychology of the arts, plus hand-out |
1 | |
Component B Element Wt (Ratio)
Description of each element (within Component)
CW2 |
1 | |
CW3 |
Reflective log based on students' understanding of and ideas about the course content |
1 |
Second Assessment Opportunity (further attendance at taught classes )
Component A (controlled) Element Wt (Ratio)
Description of each element (within Component)
Component B Element Wt (Ratio)
Description of each element (within Component)
CW2 |
1 | |
CW3 |
Reflective log based on students' understanding of and ideas about the course content |
1 |
SECOND (OR SUBSEQUENT) ATTEMPT Attendance at taught classes .
Specification confirmed by …………………………………………………Date ……………………………
(Associate Dean/Programme Director)