Alexithymia and Affect Intensity of Art Students

Previous studies have examined the personality traits of artists. Research indicates significant differences between artists, scientists, and individuals from the general population (Feist, 1998; Chamorro-Premuzic, Furnham, & Reimers, 2007). However, studies examining emotion-related traits of a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts creativity, and the arts, 2011-08, Vol.5 (3), p.251-257
Main Authors: Botella, Marion, Zenasni, Franck, Lubart, Todd
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alexithymia
Artists
College Students
Creativity
Female
Human
Male
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Summary:Previous studies have examined the personality traits of artists. Research indicates significant differences between artists, scientists, and individuals from the general population (Feist, 1998; Chamorro-Premuzic, Furnham, & Reimers, 2007). However, studies examining emotion-related traits of artists are relatively rare. Affective styles and traits may distinguish artists from other groups. The present study focuses on two objectives. The first is to examine the degree to which art students present a specific emotional profile including alexithymia and affect intensity, compared with nonart students. The second objective is to examine the degree to which these characteristics predict level of creativity. Creative performance was evaluated based on productions during an art school workshop. Results indicate that art students present a higher level of alexithymia compared with available norms. However, they show also a higher fantasy life, which appears to be an important trait of art students. Finally, results indicate that art students present a higher level of negative intensity than the general population.
ISSN:1931-3896
1931-390X
DOI:10.1037/a0022311