Contemplating art’s beauty found to boost abstract and ‘big picture’ thinking
Researchers say the findings offer empirical evidence that engaging with artistic beauty helps us escape the “mental trappings of daily life,” such as current anxieties and to-do lists, and induce “psychological distancing”: the process of zooming out on your thoughts to gain clarity.
I feel this way when looking at and transforming a well-designed Transformer figure.
Researchers found that study participants who focused on the beauty of objects in an exhibition of ceramics were more likely to experience elevated psychological states enabling them to think “beyond the here and now,” and more likely to report feeling enlightened, moved, or transformed.
Heh, look at that. The last word of that quote is “transformed.” Not intended, but fitting.