Article concerning dance psychology

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IADMS 2007 - Abstract #60 - Standing on the shoulders of a new giant ? Why dance psychology should take a leaf out of positive psychology's books

Standing on the shoulders of a new giant ? Why dance psychology should take a leaf out of positive psychology's books Author: Nordin, Sanna M. PhD, London Sport Institute, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom

Dance psychology is in its infancy, with only a small research body upon which applied recommendations and guidelines may be based. As a remedy, dance psychology may draw upon the far greater advances that have been made in sport psychology. Given the many similarities between dance and sport, this is suitable and should be recommended. However, it is also possible that a relatively new sub-discipline within psychology, namely positive psychology, might have additional insights that could further benefit the dance community.  Positive psychology became an area in its own right following the American Psychological Association (APA) presidential address of Martin Seligman (1998). Since then, positive psychology has experienced a remarkable rate of growth, with a large number of books and conferences already being devoted to the topic as well as an own journal (the Journal of Positive Psychology, 2006-). A main characteristic of the field is its emphasis on building strength as opposed to simply remedying faults.  It is proposed that dance psychology could grow by considering the recent advances in this mushrooming field. For instance, positive psychology research into dedication, creativity, and self-regulation is logically related to dance performance; understanding topics such as optimism, well-being, authentic happiness, and quality of life seems valuable to when trying to enhance dancer health; and social- and emotional intelligence and empathy appear to be areas worth exploring in relation to dance teaching. Interestingly, several topics are already studied in both positive psychology and in sport psychology, including self-confidence, talent, goal setting, self-determination, motivation, flow, and leadership, lending further credence to the claim that positive psychology can be usefully applied to movement disciplines. Altogether, this presentation aims to suggest how dance psychology research could benefit through learning from positive psychology. Recent research concerning dancer health and injury will support the suggestions for future work.

 

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Sanna Nordin