Is There a Relationship Between Art and Theory of Mind? A Review of Findings

Abstract

Art interpretation, or perception of art, reflects the intrapersonal relationship to emotions, thoughts, and seductions that a person experiences while viewing artwork (Barret, 2002). Alongside the importance of artwork interpretation, Theory of Mind (ToM) can be defined as the capacity to imagine or form opinions about the cognitive states of others (Pam, 2016). Together, art interpretation and the measure of one's Theory of Mind could provide further insight into those with weaker ToM abilities. The purpose of this research is to discover whether a relationship between Theory of Mind and art interpretation exists for future directions such as art therapy or ToM interventions.