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PS32059: Psychology of visual arts

[Page last updated: 22 April 2025]

Academic Year: 2025/26
Owning Department/School: Department of Psychology
Credits: 5 [equivalent to 10 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 100
Level: Honours (FHEQ level 6)
Period:
Semester 2
Assessment Summary: CWES 100%
Assessment Detail:
  • Essay (CWES 100%)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites: Before taking this module you must ( take PS22007 OR take PS20167 ) AND ( take PS22008 OR take PS20168 ) AND ( take PS22009 OR take PS20107 )
Learning Outcomes:
  • Describe and explain psychological research and theories relating to visual art
  • Critically evaluate empirical research and theoretical claims relevant to the psychology of visual art
  • Creatively apply ideas from a range of topics in psychological science to the study of visual art
  • Devise research to clarify the psychological processes that underlie the production and effects of visual art



Synopsis: Advance your understanding of a defining human activity by studying the psychology of visual art. Humans have produced art for at least 40,000 years. How? Why? What are the effects of making visual art on the artist and audience? This unit examines how psychological science can help answer these questions. You will expand your knowledge of cognition, emotion, development, and individual differences, and will explore how these topics can illuminate the production and consequences of visual art

Content: The unit will examine how empirical and theoretical work in psychological science contributes to understanding of topics such as: The processes that underlie the production of visual art The development of artistic ability and expertise How and why people differ in their production of visual art The effects of making visual art on the artist The processes that shape the experiences of people viewing visual art How people judge the aesthetic or financial value of artwork

Skills: Knowledge and Understanding
  • Understand the scientific underpinnings of psychology as a discipline, its historical origins, development and limitations, with an emphasis on applying psychology to real world problems.
  • Demonstrate a systematic knowledge and critical understanding of a range of influences on psychological functioning, how they are conceptualised across the core areas of psychology and how they interrelate.
  • Demonstrate a detailed and a critical knowledge of several cutting edge and state of the art specialised areas of psychology and their applications
Intellectual Skills
  • Reason scientifically, understand the role of evidence and make critical judgements about arguments in psychology.
Professional and Transferable Skills
  • Communicate complex information effectively using appropriate written, oral, graphical and electronic means, taking into account a diverse and varied audience


Aims: To examine psychological research and theories relating to visual art. To apply psychological theories to the study of visual art To examine current issues in research on the psychology of visual art.

Course availability:

PS32059 is Optional on the following courses:

Department of Psychology

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2025/26 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2026/27 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2025/26.
  • 好色tv and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
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