Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between art experience and artistic inspiration. Focusing on attitudes and behaviors in appreciation and creation as mediating variables, it was hypothesized that (a) the method of appreciation with comparison between one’s creations and others’ creations is the best predictor of artistic inspiration, and (b) art experiences might affect artistic inspiration, meditated by competence in artistic creation and the method of art appreciation. A total of 185 Japanese undergraduate and graduate students completed the research questionnaire. Data was analyzed using multiple linear regression for the first hypothesis and structural equation modeling for the second hypothesis. The two hypotheses were supported. The findings suggest that people with more extensive art experience develop competence in artistic creation and consider their own creations when appreciating others’ artwork. In addition, they experience artistic inspiration more frequently and intensely