Knowledge, Motivations, Expectations, and Engagement With Art in Museums

• In Event: 35.082 - Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: 35.082-21 - Aesthetic and Cultural Learning in Museums and Public Spaces

Abstract

Museums are powerful contexts for formal and informal learning, and in recent years, museums have placed more emphasis on providing educational experiences to the public. Even with this so-called “educational turn,” research on people’s experiences in museums continues to be museum-centered, focusing on exhibitions and museum programming. As a result, very little is known about the impact of person-related variables—such as knowledge, motivations, and expectations—on the experience of art. This study assumed a person-centered perspective and examined the relationships among knowledge, motivations, expectations, and the experience of art in a museum. Results showed that the expectation to learn and having high interest in, and experiences with, art were the factors most strongly related to deep engagement with art.

Authors

• Pablo L. Tinio, Montclair State University

• Marcos Nadal, University of Vienna

• David Brieber, University of Vienna

• Helmut Leder, University of Vienna