Nora Youn ('25), a Visual Studies major, researched how the length of time viewing museum installations influences the aesthetic impacts of the work. Nora was mentored by Dr. Anjan Chatterjee (Department of Neurology), and this research was supported by the College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant.
I took a leave of absence after sophomore year because I had no idea what I wanted to do. I began to ask myself about what questions really interested me most. I realized that it was questions about the visual world. I was curious about how visual input influences our behavior and emotions. I found that most research in visual psychology focuses on the visual system as a machine, rather than a process connected to a thinking, feeling human being. I frantically searched the internet for anyone else who felt the same as me, and found the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics. I had zero background in psychology research–not even the intro class. But I applied anyway, banking on my demonstrated interest. Thankfully, I was accepted, leading to my first independent study project, “Take it Slowly.”
Aesthetic experiences are incredibly influential in our lives. It’s why we build museums and visit them. And yet, studies show that most visitors spend 30 seconds or less viewing each piece of art. I was curious how different time spans of looking at objects could impact us differently. We measured responses to museum artifacts after normal looking (usually about 30 seconds) and slow looking (15 minutes). We found that looking slowly increases aesthetic impacts of beauty, compassion, edification, and enrapture.
It probably took you just 10 seconds to read that last sentence–but doing the research behind it took months of effort. It was even harder because this was my first research project. The most challenging part was the data collection. I had to be professional with my participants (mostly Penn students) so I would dress up and try not to reveal my age until the end of the session. I was used to gossiping about classes and celebrities with my peers, not being their instructor. Data collection was also in-person at the Penn Museum, so I spent hours in there, listening to the same audio installations on repeat, awkwardly standing around and dodging other visitors as the participants stared at their objects. But this experience helped me realize that despite these mundane and somewhat grueling parts of the research process, I wanted to keep going. Like a child watching a snail in the backyard, I loved observing the data as it flowed in–albeit at a glacial pace. I also found that collecting data from participants became much easier over time. I’m glad that I got to start early, so I can be more prepared going forward in my research career.
Another time that I was thrown into the deep end of the pool was when I presented my project at a professional research conference for the first time--something I'd never though would happen in undergrad. I’d presented before to peers and my teachers, but this was different. Aesthetics researchers from all over the world congregated at Mallorca, Spain for the sole purpose of sharing and learning about the newest research. Researchers who knew way more than me visited my poster, asked insightful questions, and shared their own experiences. Before I started, I was terrified. But I found my groove easily, developing a pretty solid elevator pitch and answering questions the way I had seen my mentors do. I also enjoyed learning about other researchers’ projects and hearing about their lives and careers. It was wonderful to see so many others who were interested in the same questions as me–and it further solidified my interest in pursuing research as a career.
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