An Investigation into Art Therapy Aided Health and Well-Being Research: A 75-Year Bibliometric Analysis

Considering the physical, and psychological impacts and challenges brought about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), art therapy (AT) provides opportunities to promote human health and well-being. There are few systematic analysis studies in the fields of AT, which can provide content and direction for the potential value and impact of AT. Therefore, this paper aims to critically analyze the published work in the field of AT from the perspective of promoting health and well-being, and provides insights into current research status, hotspots, limitations, and future development trends of AT. This paper adopts a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative analysis including bibliometric analysis and keyword co-occurrence analysis. The results indicate that: (1) the current studies on AT are mostly related to research and therapeutic methods, types of AT, research populations and diseases, and evaluation of therapeutic effect of AT. The research method of AT mainly adopts qualitative research, among which creative arts therapy and group AT are common types of AT, and its main research populations are children, veterans, and adolescents. AT-aided diseases are trauma, depression, psychosis, dementia, and cancer. In addition, the therapeutic methods are mainly related to psychotherapy, drama, music, and dance/movement. Further, computer systems are an important evaluation tool in the research of AT; (2) the future development trend of AT-aided health and well-being based on research hotspots, could be focused on children, schizophrenia, well-being, mental health, palliative care, veterans, and the elderly within the context of addressing COVID-19 challenges; and (3) future AT-aided health and well-being could pay more attention to innovate and integrate the therapeutic methods of behavior, movement, and technology, such as virtual reality and remote supervision.

The Culture of Philosophy Withering Away On the Basis of Hungarian Philosophical Experiences

Philosophy is for itself, in other words, it is an activity for itself by itself. It is one of the most precious intellectual treasures and pleasures of a human being. There are many symptoms which show that abstract thinking has lost its former glory, its glorious position in society. Unfortunately, the culture of philosophy has become a degraded intellectual phenomenon, and this short study analyses the reasons for its diminished value. It would like to stress there reasons: the first is: the practicable principle and interest as the age symptom. The second is: when the politics intervenes in the philosophy of the function (but we know that act of the way of thought is other as the movement of politics. The third is: the responsibility or irresponsibility of the philosophers. This study remarks some critical point of views in connection of there reasons. In conclusion, I claim that the current state of philosophy is the business of everybody; philosophy is a common intellectual property for all of us. In contrast to the public awareness, it is not an “aristocratic genre” but a “plebeian” one.

Returning to the Body: Somatic Sensing in Multi-Person Virtual Reality Technology

This article uses a dance-somatic standpoint to explore the complexities of body-technology relations across the virtuality and corporeality of bodies and environments using multi-person Virtual Reality technology (VR). Immersion into a virtual environment (VE) using VR can lead to a sense of presence, of ‘being there’. Dancers move attending to a field of sensation which is felt and tactile, undertaking somatic and sensory practices to de-centre vision so to foreground and thus activate non-visual and somatic senses. From this dancerly standpoint, entering into a VE brings into play the immediate effect of a perceptual tension or ‘gap’ between the visual, virtual environment and the physical, felt environment. Technologists and artists engaging with VR typically find ways to cover-over this perception gap in order to create a reality that is fluidly and synchronously experienced by the participant. This article introduces and discusses two participatory performance projects Figuring (2018) and Soma (2020) which challenge this approach. Drawing on participant responses to Figuring, and the creative development of Soma, the article presents and discusses six themes which unpack and challenge normative notions and expectations around VR technology and how bodies sensorially engage with the technology; and discusses an ‘ethics of care’ which calls for somatic activation and participatory agency in human encounters with technology. Throughout, the article offers a commentary on the tensions between a thematic research approach and an intuitive, practice-led approach in the analysis of participant testimonies and in the creative processes of performance-making. 

The Effects of the Dark Triad Traits on the Five Pillars of Positive Psychology: The Moderation Effect of Gender

The current study investigated the effects of the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on mental health indicators from the viewpoint of positive psychology. Additionally, the moderation effect of gender was explored in the context of these relationships. The sample consisted of Hungarian adults from Serbia (439, 54% women). The participants completed the Short Dark Triad Scale (SD3) and the Mental Health Test (MHT), which is a new measure of mental health that can identify levels of well-being, savoring, creative and executing efficiency, self-regulation, and resilience. Results showed that narcissism positively predicted all mental health indicators, while psychopathy negatively predicted all indicators, except for resilience, with which it showed no significant relationship. Machiavellianism was a positive predictor of savoring, creative and executing efficiency, but a negative predictor of self-regulation and resilience and it had no significant effect on well-being. There was no significant moderation effect of gender.

Feeling Present in Virtual Environments

We compare and contrast different current theoretical accounts of telepresence, including presence as a pretence (a simulation of reality), as pretending (making believe the virtual world is real), as a perceptual illusion (“the illusion of non-mediation”), and as embodied attention to the surrounding (or apparently surrounding) environment. These views are well-accepted in the field, and can be seen as contributing to a virtual travel experience, which is a kind of illusion. When we feel highly present, we believe in the perceived world in which we experience ourselves to be—it is in that moment real to us. Creating that effect is a key part of a convincing digital travel experience. To have that experience, we must be attending to the digital world, feeling as if we are physically surrounded by it. Our imaginations are involved in how we perceive our surroundings, and in how we conceptualise being there.

The Reality of Digital Travel

It is the experience that counts, there and then. When a person talks about the experience, he or she can also reflect on and interpret the experience. In this chapter we use findings from empirical studies and surveys to write about the subjective reality of digital travel. We discussed the theoretical foundation for why we can have the feeling of being there (and what we referred to as the Spinozan model of perception) in Chapters 2 and 3. The first studies we report are on factors affecting the sense of place experience, and telepresence, using video games to create a sightseeing environment for participants. The second study is a survey of citizens on the topic of vacation planning, digital travel applications before, during and after visiting a tourist destination.

Being There: Exploring Virtual Symphonic Experience as a Salutogenic Design Intervention for Older Adults

This co-design study examined salutogenic potential of mobile virtual reality (VR) experiences as an alternative to participation in a community-based symphonic engagement program (B Sharp), previously found to benefit people with dementia (PWD) and their informal caregivers. Six focus groups were conducted with sixteen adults aged 76–90; three participants had dementia, and two were informal spousal caregivers. No participants had prior VR experience. The study assessed the feasibility of replicating the community-based-arts program in VR, with the goal of enhancing its salutogenic qualities (e.g., positive distraction, engagement, and social connection). Video-recordings of participants while using a mobile head-mounted display (HMD) were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis to compare perceptions of different virtual experiences, including replication or enhancement of B Sharp and a campus tour. Findings suggest participants had positive perceptions of enhanced VR experiences with no adverse effects, although PWD were less enthusiastic and HMD usability was complicated by eyewear use and comfort with technology. Participants reacted most favorably to the enhanced symphonic experience, where they were “virtually” onstage during the performance, suggesting unique experiences beyond what is possible in the real world have the greatest potential for deep immersion for older adults. Results suggest VR has strong potential to replicate and enhance salutogenic qualities of community-based programming by enabling greater access to experiences for older adults and by increasing enjoyment and engagement through experiences not otherwise feasible. Furthermore, this study illuminates advantages of a user-centered, co-design approach when developing VR experiences with community partners and older adults.