Amanda Carr

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Amanda Carr

Psychology Major

Advisor: DaSean L. Young, PhD

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

There has been a long history of artists as collectors, amassing objects as both part of their creative process and for personal enjoyment. However, it remains to be seen if some of the more extreme collecting tendencies of artists may be instead classified as hoarding. Although, there has been some examination of the relationship between artists and creativity to hoarding, there is a dearth of empirical investigation into the relationship between art engagement and hoarding behavior. Further, artists’ and hoarding behavior are mutually associated with some personality traits and cognitive functions. Given such parallels and the overall lack of research regarding studio artists and hoarding, the present study aimed to assess if art engagement is related to hoarding behavior. 125 participants who varied in age, gender, race/ethnicity, year in school, major, art engagement, and hoarding behavior were recruited. After being screened to determine if they qualified, participants were surveyed about their demographic information, frequency of active engagement with the arts, and hoarding behavior. To assess if art engagement was related to hoarding behavior, we conducted a regression analysis. We hypothesized that results would indicate that art engagement was positively correlated with hoarding behavior. Our results revealed evidence consistent with our hypothesis, suggesting that those who score higher in art engagement are somewhat more likely to exhibit hoarding behavior. The current study contributes to knowledge of hoarding behavior and may inform future treatment approaches, especially those related to artists specifically. Taken together, our findings provide preliminary evidence to warrant future examination into the possibility of studio artists being more inclined to exhibit hoarding behavior. Additional research is required to better understand the nature of the relationship between art engagement and hoarding behavior.

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