What Makes People High in Openness to Experience Happy? The Mediating Effect of Arts Engagement
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Openness to experience is one of the least studied traits in relation to subjective well-being, despite its potential as a resource that enables flourishing. In this study, we therefore focused on this particular trait and examined whether its relation to subjective well-being is explained by receptive (Studies 1 and 2) and participatory arts engagement (Study 2) using data from the GESIS Panel ( N = 874) and the Swiss Household Panel ( N = 6336). In both studies, results indicated that the link between openness to experience and positive affect was explained in part by receptive arts engagement, whereas Study 2 showed that both receptive and participatory arts engagement served as partial mediators between openness to experience and life satisfaction. It follows, then, that the tendency to engage in the arts can lead to a happier life, which strengthens previous evidence for the potential of the arts as a means of flourishing.
Source: Empirical Studies of the Arts
Authors: Maria Manolika, Thomas Jacobsen
Institution: Helmut Schmidt University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,450
OpenAlex ID: W4401469540