Psyche and the literary muses : the contribution of literary content to scientific psychology / Martin S. Lindauer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lindauer, Martin S.

Series:

Linguistic approaches to literature ; v. 7.

Linguistic approaches to literature ; v. 7

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Literature--Psychology.

Literature.

Literature--Philosophy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (224 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Pub. Co., 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Psyche and the Literary Muses focuses on the psychology of literature from an empirical point of view, rather than the more typical psychoanalytic position, and concentrates on literary content rather than readers or writers. The book centers on the author's quantitative studies of brief literary and quasi-literary forms, ranging from titles of short stories and names of literary characters to clichés and quotations from literary sources, in demonstrating their contribution to the topics of learning, perception, thinking, emotions, creativity, and especially person perception and aging. More broadly, Psyche bears on literary studies, art, and psychology in general, as well as interdisciplinarity. This book deepens the understanding and appreciation of literature for scholars, academics and the general reader.

Contents:

Psyche and the Literary Muses

Editorial page

Title page

LCC data

Dedication

Table of contents

Preface

Part 1. Introduction

1. An orientation

2. Similarities and differences across the psychology of art

Unique aspects of the psychology of art

The role of the arts in psychology

3. Competing psychological approaches to the arts: Clinical and scientific

An overview

The clinical psychological approach to the arts

Scientific psychology and the arts

4. The status of the scientific psychology of art

Part 2. The psychology of literature: An overview

5. The psychology of literature: Comparisons with other psychologies of art

Similarities between literature and the other arts

The distinctive features of the psychology of literature

Literary content is psychological

The neglect of the psychological content of literature

6. A scientific psychology of literary content: Obstacles and steps towards a solution

The many-sided objections to a scientific psychology of literary content

Towards a solution: overcoming the obstacles to a scientific psychology of literary content

The importance of the literary stimulus

The virtues of brief literary materials

Part 3. The psychological relevance of brief literary forms

7. Poetry, autobiographies, and titles: Their contribution to cognition, creativity, and physiognomic perception

Poetry, the recognition of style, and concept learning

Artists on creativity

Titles of abstract paintings and short stories: Their expressive properties

The titles of abstract art

The titles of short stories

8. Literary names, indices, and clichés: Their contribution to physiognomic perception, emotions, and thinking

Names in literature: Their physiognomic properties

Studies of the positive and negative qualities of names.

Indices of literary content: Positive and negative emotions in literature

Clichés: Cognitive and personal factors in their use

The lessons learned

9. Quotations: Their psychological usefulness

Quotations on quotations

Quotations on literature

A study of quotations: attitudes towards numbers

Part 4. The psychological content of quotations: Person perception and attitudes to aging

10. Person perception and the psychological attributes of the body

11. A study of quotations on the psychological implications of the body

12. Prologue: Aging and the arts

Paintings

Literature

Paintings and literature compared

The next step

13. Aging's memorable lines: A study of quotations about growing old

14. The preoccupations of aging: The subject matter of quotations

15. Evaluations of aging in quotations

The old compared to the young

Old age as good or bad

The physical-sensory aspects of aging

The aged's mental abilities

The aged's enjoyment of life

Old women

The aged's relationships with others

Quotations with modest frequencies

Evaluations of old age over time

Old age: good or bad?

The contribution of quotations to the study of aging

Part 5. Conclusion

16. Implications of a content-oriented psychology of literature

The focus on literary content

Towards a perceptual emphasis

A revitalized experimental aesthetics of literature

Furthering interdisciplinary and other connections

Evaluating the approach

A personal word

A final word

Notes

References cited

Index

The series Linguistic Approaches to Literature.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612169878

9781282169876

1282169874

9789027289452

902728945X

OCLC:

436146651