CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR THE ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND HUMAN FLOURISHING

 
 
 

Central to our Humanities and Human Flourishing research is our conceptual model (based on: Tay, Pawelski, & Keith, 2018; Shim, Tay, Ward, & Pawelski, 2019), which theorizes engagement in the humanities in three frames:

  1. The extensional frame, or the what of humanities engagement, focuses on the forms and content of the humanities domain and is variously described in the literature as fields (including academic disciplines, economic industries, and public sectors), subject matter, practices, artifacts, and phenomenological experiences. 

  2. The functional frame, or the how of humanities engagement, focuses on the behavioral and attitudinal aspects of humanities engagement and is described in terms of activities (e.g., reading, writing, drawing, and dancing), modes (e.g., creating, performing, critiquing, studying, and appreciating), and approaches (e.g., idiographic, interpretive, evaluative, expressive, communicative, and historic). 

  3. The normative frame, or the why of humanities engagement, focuses on the ends and purposes of humanities engagement and is described in terms of aesthetic experience, individual and societal growth, and meaning-making. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

The conceptual model includes a wide variety of human flourishing outcomes and range from the physiological and psychological to the ethical and social. We are interested in neurological, physiological, and psychological reactions to the direct experience of humanities engagement; the well-being effects of short- and long-term engagement in the humanities; the enduring psychological competencies to which it can lead; and the impact it can have on character development, ethical attitudes and behaviors, civic engagement, and the advancement of social justice.

Finally, our conceptual model includes five mechanisms that seem to be particularly salient as pathways through which humanities engagement affects human flourishing (i.e. the RAISE mechanisms): Reflection, Acquisition, Immersion, Socialization, and Expression.

  • Reflection is an intentional, cognitive-emotional process for developing, reinforcing, or discarding one’s habits, character, values, or worldview.

  • Acquisition is the set of socio-cognitive psychological processes – such as experiences of mastery, vicarious experiences, direct encouragement, and positive physiological responses – that underlie the development of particular perspectives, habits, or skills, including self-efficacy, self-regulation, and integrative complexity, among others.

  • Immersion is the immediacy that often attends engagement with the AH. One’s attention is captured, resulting in the experiencing of various levels of sensory and emotional states and first-order cognitions, often leading to a feeling of being carried away and disconnected from the worries of everyday life.

  • Socialization is the degree to which individuals take on various roles and identities within communities and cultures.

  • Expression is a process of externalizing one’s thoughts and feelings in a way that may, but need not, involve others.