October 7th, 2026
Beau Fellows
How does psychology contribute to museums?
The feeling of seeing beautiful art connects directly to the brain. The emotion behind it and the processing of what is in front of you involve psychology in many ways. I believe that emotion is what keeps Museums alive today; I’m sure many will agree with that statement.
Viewing art triggers many positive emotions as well as boosting the overall well-being of a human. Not only that, being in a museum even helps mentally by bringing a community together to enjoy the same experience. This is huge because psychologists can describe what you are feeling and help you understand the complexity of such a beautiful experience.
I chose this image to showcase how psychology can be used in art. This beautiful brain made from rope depicts the brain in a visual experience. Showing the different areas of the brain gives the viewers a sense of the science behind the brain. This may even urge them to do more research on the subject out of interest.
How does psychology relate to the white cube?
The white cube is something in museums that relates to psychology in many important ways. We harped on this a little in our Remaking Museums class, and it made me want to do some more research on this subject. The neutral background removes outside distractions and allows full focus on the piece in front of the viewer’s eyes. Something called Spatial Memory Encoding actually allows viewers to recall a painting or art piece over a longer period of time after visiting the white cube.
Habits of mind
I used a great sense of integrated perspective when connecting psychology to museums. Doing more research on the subject actually allowed me to look at the other side of the controversies of the white cube. This helped me understand why it is being used in many modern-day museums, and I became more fond of the subject.
Resources
https://medium.com/@ria_j/the-psychology-of-art-why-we-feel-so-much-in-a-museum-aec7a90f6ed3
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001691814002558
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