15:00 - 16:30
Tue—Casino_1.801—Poster2—51
Tue-Poster2
Room:
Room: Casino_1.801
Art for Attendees’ Sake: The Beneficial Effects of Arts Attendance on Subjective Well-Being in People High in Neuroticism
Tue—Casino_1.801—Poster2—5103
Presented by: Maria Manolika
Maria Manolika *Thomas Jacobsen
Experimental Psychology Unit, Helmut Schmidt University/ University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg
Neuroticism has long been known as a risk factor not only for diminished happiness, but also for impaired health. And yet, despite growing evidence for the beneficial effects of arts attendance on health and happiness, the question still remains: Do people high in neuroticism benefit from arts attendance? Using data from a nationally representative panel study from Germany (N = 874), in the present study we examined the hypothesis that arts attendance moderates the effects of neuroticism on subjective well-being components–life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Moderation analyses, as expected, suggested arts attendance as a buffer against the adverse effects of neuroticism on life satisfaction and positive affect as well. Arts attendance, however, did not moderate the relation of neuroticism to negative affect, which further confirms the core feature of neuroticism: the propensity towards negative emotional states. Overall, however, our findings strengthen the evidence for the potential of art as a source of happiness and illustrate the importance of its promotion among people scoring high in neuroticism.
Keywords: Neuroticism, well-being, arts attendance