Boon, Meike (2024) Exploring the Spectrum of Responses to Art: A Comparative Analysis of Sex-Based Development Across Life Stages. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
|
Text
Thesis-Meike-Boon-S4354478.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
This thesis explores how children of different sexes and at different ages make sense of art and experience emotions in response to it. Through a mixed-methods approach with 44 participants aged 6-17, three hypotheses were tested: 1) children assigned male at birth use more semiotic strategies than children assigned female at birth, 2) older children use more semiotic strategies than younger children, and 3) children assigned female at birth experience and report stronger emotions than children assigned male at birth. Semiotic strategies (Perception, Imagination, Conceptualization, and Analysis) were measured through conversations about personally meaningful objects that were held between pairs of 2 children. Emotional responses were measured with an adapted version of the Geneva Emotion Wheel. The results found no significant sex-based differences in the semiotic strategy use, nor any difference in emotional intensity. Age, however, was a significant predictor; older children often used more advanced strategies like Conceptualization and Analysis. This study suggests that differences in emotional expression between sexes may be culturally reinforced rather than biological and innate, and that sense-making abilities develop with age, and not necessarily differ between sexes.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Schino, G. and Cox, R.F.A. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jul 2025 07:42 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Jul 2025 07:42 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5659 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |