What Is Art Good For? The Socio-Epistemic Value of Art — TEI-tagged view

Aleksandra Sherman, Clair Morrissey · 2017 · philosophy-of-art · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00411 · TEI xml · tagged edition · index · concepts · authors
Where this record's text came from. 2026-09-08 schema-0.3 pass: every quote verified as an exact substring of the staged text and anchored at merge time; concept terms verified present; every edge endpoint an existing node. Update, 11 September 2026: creators and year filled from Crossref by the record's own DOI (https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00411); the record had been admitted without either, so its public byline was empty. Data fetched by the project.
This record’s own method is review, and the tags below follow from that. A review’s findings, quantities and statistics are things stated IN this paper, and some of them report results obtained elsewhere. No tag on this page names a different author. Measured across every review in this corpus, 81% of a review’s tags carry no citation at all — most of them are the review speaking. The corpus does not adjudicate the rest: read an unmarked tag as a claim this paper makes, not necessarily one it made first.
Other fields define these differently the same word, defined another way in another discipline
empathy 7 fields · aesthetic experience 4 fields · well-being 4 fields · cognitive empathy 3 fields · affective empathy 2 fields · default mode network 2 fields · and 3 more →
Tags on this paper every tag the record carries, whether or not the words occur in the text below — a number is how many papers in the corpus carry that tag; a tag with no number is unique to this paper
art appreciation neuroaesthetics3 aesthetic experience6 social practices socio-epistemic skill self-understanding other-understanding self-knowledge knowledge of the self self-identity self-reflection2 being moved3 default mode network3 self-schema transformation clarificationism imaginative understanding empathy11 sympathy cognitive empathy4 affective empathy3 emotional contagion4 theory of mind4 embodied responses mirror neuron system aesthetic distance aesthetic evaluation well-being10 review319
Method, as described: a conceptual/argumentative review: situate art appreciation as an active social practice, review the psychological and cognitive-neuroscientific evidence that it cultivates socio-epistemic skills, and draw on philosophical frameworks to motivate an expanded empirical program

Our tag layer for this paper

Cross-disciplinary analysis
content-tags & facets: phenomenon · claim-type · cross-domain-transfer · mechanism · claim-relation · replication-status · limitation — grounded in the full text
phenomenonart appreciation as a social practice that cultivates socio-epistemic skills, specifically self-understanding and other-understanding— “Empirical research complements the philosophical framework above by helping us understand the mechanisms that underwrite the particular socio-epistemic skills of other-understanding and self-understanding 5 . We choose to highlight self-understanding and other-understanding because they align well with what many think of art appreciation as…
claim-typecritique— “Empirically investigating art appreciation in this way, however, risks conflating the arts with aesthetics. That is, it risks reducing the study of the nature of the arts to their ability to cause a particular feeling of disinterested joy or pleasure in a beholder. This reduction is reflected in (i) the way neuroaesthetics frames and…
method — evidence— “Scientists, humanists, and art lovers alike value art not just for its beauty, but also for its social and epistemic importance; that is, for its communicative nature, its capacity to increase one's self-knowledge and encourage personal growth, and its ability to challenge our schemas and preconceptions. However, empirical research tends…
object of study — evidence— “Scientists, humanists, and art lovers alike value art not just for its beauty, but also for its social and epistemic importance; that is, for its communicative nature, its capacity to increase one's self-knowledge and encourage personal growth, and its ability to challenge our schemas and preconceptions. However, empirical research tends…
research question — evidence— “Our primary goal here is to argue that a systematic scientific study of art appreciation must explain the potentially broad-ranging and diverse social outputs of arts engagement, and thus, must go beyond measurements of aesthetic pleasure or liking. We advocate for the need to embrace an expanded empirical research program characterized by…
contribution — evidence— “Below, we start by framing the arts as social practices that are embodied, enactive, and communicative. Although our art as social practice organization is not in contrast to information processing accounts, it importantly allows us to focus empirical evaluations on the cluster of skills that are developed through art appreciation. Among…
mechanismbeing moved prompts self-reflection Emotionally moving, potentially transformative art experiences produce an inward, self-reflective focus - felt as chills or tears - that can exercise self- and other-understanding.— “With respect to visual art, research in neuroaesthetics has also suggested that when engaging with artworks that are emotionally moving and potentially transformative, individuals may have an inward, self-reflective focus. Here, being moved refers to “intensely felt responses [such as tears or chills] to scenarios that have a particularly…mechanisms[0]
mechanismdefault mode network recruitment During intensely moving aesthetic experiences the default mode network, involved in self-contemplation and self-referential thought, is recruited more strongly for artworks rated as highly moving.— “Indeed, Vessel et al. ( 2012 , 2013 ) have demonstrated that during intensely moving aesthetic experiences, the default mode network—a network of brain areas including the precuneus, medial frontal cortex, inferior parietal cortex, and medial temporal cortex known to be involved in self contemplation, self reflection, and self-referential…mechanisms[1]
mechanismexpectancy violation and self-schema transformation When a beholder's expectations are violated, self-reflective meta-cognitive re-assessment begins and can eventually restructure the self-schema.— “Psychologists have also described models that center the idea that art appreciation recruits metacognitive processes and promotes self-reflection and transformation. For example, Pelowski and Akiba ( 2011 ) (see also Pelowski, 2015 ; Pelowski et al., 2017 ) argue that influential empirical studies of aesthetic experience focusing on…mechanisms[2]
mechanismembodied simulation Embodied responses to art are cognitive and affective simulations that help the beholder grasp both the representational content of the work and the intentions of the artist.— “Some researchers within neuroaesthetics have begun to reconsider arts engagement as a fully embodied, enactive experience (e.g., Freedberg and Gallese, 2007 ; Nadal et al., 2012 ), with empirical evidence suggesting the involvement of neural processes related to both perspective-taking and affective empathy during art appreciation. One such…mechanisms[3]
mechanismaffect sharing Empathy lets a beholder resonate with and share an isomorphic affective state while remaining aware of its source, providing a route to understanding others through art.— “Another way, then, to understand other people is to have an “insider” view by actually experiencing what the other person is experiencing. This “catching” of another person's experience is what most scholars refer to as empathy. Although there are many definitions for empathy in the psychological and philosophical literature (see Batson…mechanisms[4]
mechanismmirror neuron system Mirror neurons and homologous human cortical regions respond both when performing and when observing an action, a candidate substrate for experientially understanding an artwork's content and the artist's intentions.— “The evidence linking neural processes recruited during other-understanding to art appreciation as reviewed above is promising. Perhaps the mirror neuron system (and other neural processes related to mentalizing as reviewed above) play an important role in enabling an experiential understanding of the content of a visual artwork as well as…mechanisms[5]
builds-on Wolterstorff's and MacIntyre's account of the arts as social practices— “In Art Rethought: The Social Practices of Art (2015), Wolterstorff argues that we should adopt MacIntyre's account of social practices as a framework for understanding the nature of the arts (Wolterstorff, 2015 ). MacIntyre ( 1984 ) defines social practices as:”claim_relations[0]
contrasts-with neuroaesthetics' focus on beauty, preference and pleasure as the primary outcomes of art appreciation— “Empirically investigating art appreciation in this way, however, risks conflating the arts with aesthetics. That is, it risks reducing the study of the nature of the arts to their ability to cause a particular feeling of disinterested joy or pleasure in a beholder. This reduction is reflected in (i) the way neuroaesthetics frames and…claim_relations[1]
extends information-processing accounts of art appreciation— “For instance, information-processing accounts of art appreciation aim to understand the relationship between inputs (e.g., formal features, transient individual differences like emotional or mood states, and more sustained individual differences in personality, culture, historical contexts, or expertise), processing mechanisms unfolding…claim_relations[2]
supports the claim that art appreciation is deeply connected to other-understanding— “The evidence linking neural processes recruited during other-understanding to art appreciation as reviewed above is promising. Perhaps the mirror neuron system (and other neural processes related to mentalizing as reviewed above) play an important role in enabling an experiential understanding of the content of a visual artwork as well as…claim_relations[3]
qualifies claims that art appreciation cultivates empathy— “Although these effects seem promising, many of the claims about empathy cultivated through art appreciation are contested. For instance, some researchers have been unable to replicate the causal effects (most recently, Panero et al., 2016 ), noting, like Bullot and Reber ( 2013 ), that a brief encounter is typically “shallow” and is unlikely…claim_relations[4]
recommends longitudinal, multi-method empirical designs beyond single-exposure preference measures— “To answer these questions, researchers will need to go beyond the typical unitary measures of preference after a single exposure, and instead employ more longitudinal designs incorporating both state and trait based measures. Take for example a researcher interested in whether and how engaging with particular form of visual art (e.g., art…claim_relations[5]
senseunderstanding - Carroll's clarificationist sense: deepening and clarifying moral knowledge one already has, as opposed to acquiring new propositional knowledge from the sciences— “Philosophers who defend the view that art appreciation is a form of moral understanding can inform our conception of how art appreciation may enhance self-identity and self-understanding. A particularly influential view is Noël Carroll's clarificationism (Carroll, 1988 ). Unlike the sciences, which allow individuals to acquire new…senses[0]
senseself - two philosophical senses: 'self-knowledge' as knowledge of one's own mental states, versus 'knowledge of the self' as understanding of one's self and its nature— “In philosophy, the term “self-knowledge” often refers to knowledge of one's own mental states—that is, knowledge of our own beliefs, thoughts, or sensations. In contrast, “knowledge of the self” can refer to knowledge or understanding of one's “self” and its nature. Following Gertler ( 2015 ), we may include under this heading four…senses[1]
senseempathy - feeling WITH another (isomorphic affect sharing), distinguished from sympathy as feeling FOR another— “Another way, then, to understand other people is to have an “insider” view by actually experiencing what the other person is experiencing. This “catching” of another person's experience is what most scholars refer to as empathy. Although there are many definitions for empathy in the psychological and philosophical literature (see Batson…senses[2]
sensesocial - the authors' sense: longstanding practices embedded in the fabric and life of communities, not mere co-presence or a social context of viewing
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
senses[3]
sensevalue of art - social, epistemic and personal value, as opposed to monetary or economic value
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
senses[4]
sensebeing moved - an intense, attachment-relevant emotional response prompting self-reflection, distinct from liking or a judgment of beauty
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
senses[5]
sensethe arts vs aesthetics - the paper resists reducing 'the arts' (their nature and function) to 'aesthetics' (the capacity to cause disinterested pleasure)
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
senses[6]
noteWolterstorff's and MacIntyre's account of the arts as social practices — Adopts MacIntyre's social-practices framework, via Wolterstorff, as the frame for the nature of the arts.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[0]
weightWolterstorff's and MacIntyre's account of the arts as social practices — 0.9
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[0]
noteneuroaesthetics' focus on beauty, preference and pleasure as the primary outcomes of art appreciation — Argues that focus risks conflating the arts with aesthetics and reducing art to the capacity to cause disinterested pleasure.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[1]
weightneuroaesthetics' focus on beauty, preference and pleasure as the primary outcomes of art appreciation — 0.9
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[1]
noteinformation-processing accounts of art appreciation — Not opposed to them, but reoriented: investigate the information-processing system through socially-related outputs rather than aesthetic outcomes.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[2]
weightinformation-processing accounts of art appreciation — 0.85
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[2]
notethe claim that art appreciation is deeply connected to other-understanding — Reviewed neural findings are read as promising but not decisive support; more research is called crucial.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[3]
weightthe claim that art appreciation is deeply connected to other-understanding — 0.7
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[3]
noteclaims that art appreciation cultivates empathy — Notes many such claims are contested, causal effects have not always replicated, and brief encounters are shallow.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[4]
weightclaims that art appreciation cultivates empathy — 0.9
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[4]
notelongitudinal, multi-method empirical designs beyond single-exposure preference measures — Recommends longer engagement, naturalistic comparison, combined methods, and state/trait individual-difference measures.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[5]
weightlongitudinal, multi-method empirical designs beyond single-exposure preference measures — 0.9
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
claim_relations[5]
noteself-knowledge —distinct-from→ knowledge of the self — Differentiator stated: mental states versus the self and its nature; cue 'In contrast'.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[0]
relationself-knowledge —distinct-from→ knowledge of the self — Self-knowledge is knowledge of one's own mental states, whereas knowledge of the self is understanding of one's self and its nature.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[0]
weightself-knowledge —distinct-from→ knowledge of the self — 0.9
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[0]
auditempathy —distinct-from→ sympathy — Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its span and kept, but the span shown is about 'catching' another's state; the empathy-sympathy distinction is not visible.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[1]
noteempathy —distinct-from→ sympathy — Differentiator stated: feeling 'with' versus feeling 'for'; cue 'distinct from / rather than'.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[1]
relationempathy —distinct-from→ sympathy — Empathy is feeling 'with' another (an isomorphic shared emotion), distinct from sympathy, which is feeling 'for' another.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[1]
weightempathy —distinct-from→ sympathy — 0.9
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[1]
auditempathy —distinct-from→ emotional contagion — Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its span and kept, but the span shown is about 'catching' another's state; the empathy-contagion distinction is not visible.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[2]
noteempathy —distinct-from→ emotional contagion — Differentiator: awareness of the source of one's affect; cue 'does not / rather than'.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[2]
relationempathy —distinct-from→ emotional contagion — True empathy requires a developed sense of self, agency, and other, whereas imitation or emotional contagion alone - seen even in infants - does not.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[2]
weightempathy —distinct-from→ emotional contagion — 0.9
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[2]
noteself-understanding —is-a→ socio-epistemic skill — Flat categorical is-a; cue 'is a', instance first.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[3]
relationself-understanding —is-a→ socio-epistemic skill — Self-understanding is a socio-epistemic skill, because recognizing and acting on one's central values is a social ability.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[3]
notebeing moved —contrasted-with→ aesthetic evaluation — Contrast of research focus; cue 'rather than'.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[4]
relationbeing moved —contrasted-with→ aesthetic evaluation — Understanding the experience of being moved is set against just focusing on aesthetic evaluation as the object of research.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[4]
weightbeing moved —contrasted-with→ aesthetic evaluation — 0.85
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concept_edges[4]
relationart appreciation → self-understanding — Art appreciation may cultivate self-understanding, held open rather than causally asserted.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[0]
weightart appreciation → self-understanding — 0.55
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[0]
relationart appreciation → other-understanding — Art appreciation is connected to other-understanding on the reviewed evidence.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[1]
weightart appreciation → other-understanding — 0.7
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[1]
relationcognitive empathy → affective empathy — Cognitive and affective empathy are two related but distinct capacities for understanding others.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[2]
weightcognitive empathy → affective empathy — 0.85
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[2]
relationart appreciation → well-being — Art appreciation is associated with well-being and flourishing.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[3]
weightart appreciation → well-being — 0.6
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[3]
no type for thisart appreciation → self-understanding — Art appreciation as a practice is proposed to enhance self-understanding, but the authors explicitly decline to assert a specific or direct causal pathway.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[0]
no type for thisart appreciation → other-understanding — Reviewed findings suggest art appreciation is deeply connected to other-understanding, engaging mental-state-attribution processes.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[1]
no type for thiscognitive empathy → affective empathy — Cognitive empathy (modelling minds without emotional investment) and affective empathy (resonating with an isomorphic emotion) are two distinct routes to understanding others.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[2]
no type for thisart appreciation → well-being — Art appreciation and creation are associated with increased well-being and are argued to be partially constitutive of a flourishing life.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
unhoused_relations[3]
limitationThe authors decline to commit to any specific or direct causal pathway between cognitive processes, art appreciation, and self- or other-understanding, identifying it instead as an open area of investigation.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
limitations[0]
limitationThe reviewed studies are not direct evidence that self-understanding is developed by art appreciation; they show only that self-reflection, a related process, is prompted by moving art experiences.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
limitations[1]
limitationThe empirical and philosophical research on art appreciation and other-understanding is still limited in scope, quantity, and specificity.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
limitations[2]
limitationMany claims that art appreciation cultivates empathy are contested; causal effects have not always replicated, and a brief encounter is typically shallow.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
limitations[3]
limitationThe extent to which mirroring, simulation, and empathy actually affect art appreciation and aesthetic evaluation remains understudied.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
limitations[4]
Content tags
content-observations: finding · quantity · variable · definition · key-term — grounded in the full text
findingDefault mode network activity was higher for artworks rated as highly moving than for those rated lower, consistent with an inward, self-reflective focus during moving aesthetic experiences.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[0]
findingFeeling like crying while viewing art was correlated with increased self-awareness, feelings of epiphany and insight, and with mixed emotions corresponding to being moved.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[1]
findingParticipants whose bodily motions were congruent with a painting's style (e.g., stippling for Pointillism) reported liking the artworks more than incongruent groups, suggesting motor resonance shapes preference.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[2]
findingIndividuals high in emotion contagion were more moved by, interested in, and enjoyed visual art, and reacted more strongly to emotion-congruent aspects of the work.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[3]
findingPeople who read more literary or narrative fiction score higher on mental-state tests (RMET, Yoni), and even brief exposure to a literary short story raised scores relative to popular fiction or nonfiction.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[4]
findingAfter watching empathy-inducing film clips, individuals were more charitable, a prosocial effect that was partially mediated by age.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[5]
findingA large-scale population study found that both art appreciation and art creation are associated with increased well-being (perceived health, life satisfaction, and lower anxiety and depression).
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[6]
findingContrary to a simple empathy-boost account, reading fiction was found to decrease perceptual accuracy in discriminating fearful emotions, plausibly through a prosocial attribution bias.
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.findings[7]
quantityrarely exceeding 15 seconds — typical short viewing time per artwork in lab studies of visual aesthetic experience the authors critique
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.quantities[0]
quantityat least 1 minute — longer per-artwork engagement time the authors recommend for future designs
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.quantities[1]
definitionself-knowledge
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[0]
definitionknowledge of the self
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[1]
definitionself-understanding
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[2]
definitionself-identity
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[3]
definitionclarificationism
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[4]
definitionempathy
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[5]
definitioncognitive empathy
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[6]
definitionimaginative understanding
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[7]
definitionsocial practices
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[8]
definitionself-reflection
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
content_tags.definitions[9]
Concepts
terms this paper carries, each with the sentence it was cut from — the layer that joins one paper to another. Terms with no quote yet are on CONCEPTS.html.
conceptart appreciation — not defined in this paper's own words; active engagement with and response to works of art, reframed as a social practice rather than passive contemplation
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[0]
conceptneuroaesthetics — not defined in this paper's own words; the study of the neurobiological substrates of aesthetic experience
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[1]
conceptaesthetic experience — not defined in this paper's own words; the experience of beauty, preference or pleasure that neuroaesthetics has privileged as the outcome of art
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[2]
conceptsocial practices — not defined in this paper's own words; MacIntyre's cooperative human activities with internal goods and standards of excellence, applied to the arts
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[3]
conceptsocio-epistemic skill — not defined in this paper's own words; a skill, such as self- or other-understanding, that is both socially relevant and a way of gaining knowledge, cultivated through art engagement
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[4]
conceptself-understanding — not defined in this paper's own words; understanding of one's own values, commitments and identity, as a socio-epistemic outcome of art appreciation
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[5]
conceptother-understanding — not defined in this paper's own words; understanding of the emotional and cognitive states of others, as a socio-epistemic outcome of art appreciation
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[6]
conceptself-knowledge — not defined in this paper's own words; knowledge of one's own mental states (beliefs, thoughts, sensations)
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[7]
conceptknowledge of the self — knowledge or understanding of one's “self” and its nature
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[8]
conceptself-identity — not defined in this paper's own words; one's subjective sense of who one is, organized around central commitments and values
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[9]
conceptself-reflection — not defined in this paper's own words; thoughts and insights on oneself, often in relation to others and society
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[10]
conceptbeing moved — not defined in this paper's own words; an intense emotional response (tears, chills) to attachment-relevant scenarios that prompts self-reflection
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[11]
conceptdefault mode network — not defined in this paper's own words; a brain network involved in self-contemplation and self-referential thought, recruited during moving art experiences
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[12]
conceptself-schema transformation — not defined in this paper's own words; restructuring of the self-schema following meta-cognitive re-assessment of a discrepant art encounter
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[13]
conceptclarificationism — not defined in this paper's own words; Carroll's view that art deepens existing moral knowledge into understanding rather than supplying new propositions
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[14]
conceptimaginative understanding — not defined in this paper's own words; Kieran's arts-promoted skill of grasping the appropriate way to feel for and respond to others
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[15]
conceptempathy — not defined in this paper's own words; catching and resonating with another's isomorphic emotion while remaining aware of its source
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[16]
conceptsympathy — not defined in this paper's own words; feeling 'for' another rather than feeling 'with' them, a phenomenon related to but distinct from empathy
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[17]
conceptcognitive empathy — not defined in this paper's own words; modelling others' minds by inferring intentions and predicting actions, without emotional investment
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[18]
conceptaffective empathy — not defined in this paper's own words; the affective side of empathy - resonating with another's emotion while distinguishing self from other
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[19]
conceptemotional contagion — not defined in this paper's own words; automatic imitation or catching of another's emotion, seen even in infants and short of true empathy
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[20]
concepttheory of mind — not defined in this paper's own words; the capacity to attribute mental states to others; a synonym cluster for cognitive empathy
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[21]
conceptembodied responses — not defined in this paper's own words; physical, felt responses to visual art construed as cognitive and affective simulations
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[22]
conceptmirror neuron system — not defined in this paper's own words; neurons responding to both performed and observed actions, proposed as a substrate for understanding art and artists
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[23]
conceptaesthetic distance — not defined in this paper's own words; the safe, 'distant' space reading literary fiction creates, allowing experimentation with others' positions
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[24]
conceptaesthetic evaluation — not defined in this paper's own words; judgment of an artwork's beauty, liking or preference - the outcome the authors want to look beyond
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[25]
conceptwell-being — not defined in this paper's own words; health, life satisfaction and flourishing to which art appreciation and creation are linked
Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher.
concepts[26]

When we have changed our mind. Some entries in the table begin with a word in capitals and the reason for it. EVIDENCE CORRECTED — the finding still stands, but we had quoted the wrong sentence from the paper, and the quotation has been replaced with the right one. RETRACTED — the entry itself was wrong; it stays on the page, marked, with the reason, rather than being deleted. WITHDRAWN AND REPLACED — the entry was wrong, and a corrected version of it appears in the entries below. Each mark carries its own reason, in brackets, because the reasons differ from one entry to the next. An entry we have WITHDRAWN is removed from this page and kept in the record, with its reason. A line reading Audit and a date is a later re-reading of the entry against its whole sentence: DOUBTFUL means it was kept, and the reason says what is loose about it. Quotation marks inside the tagger's sentence. Where a tag is the tagger's own sentence, a phrase in quotation marks inside it is borrowed from the paper — the tagger's wording around it is not. The paper's own sentence is the evidence quote for that row; on this page it is withheld with the article, and the article is at its publisher. Nothing inside quotation marks anywhere on this page is ours: if it is quoted, it is the paper's. Whose words a concept carries. A concept entry records a term the paper itself uses, so the term, the sense given for it, and its evidence are the paper's own words, quoted where the paper fixes them. This is the opposite of a sense entry in the tag table, which is the tagger's sentence about how the paper uses a term. Where a concept entry could not be grounded in the paper's words, the entry says so on its own row.

Tag layer © the Meta-Tagging Project, CC BY 4.0. The paper text is © its authors/publisher and is linked, not reproduced. Excerpts shown are short quotations for identification and verification. · back to index · concepts · authors · עברית
© 2026 Shir Sivroni · ORCID 0009-0000-2597-2824