Sensory-mediated “arts on prescription”: emotional arousal mechanisms through Portuguese Azulejo craft workshop

Abstract

Background This study investigates the therapeutic potential of the Portuguese Azulejo craft within an Arts on Prescription framework, focusing on how sensory engagement across creative stages supports the regulation of a positive emotional state, suggesting a potential U-shaped trajectory (with calming early phases and a spike of excitement in the final phase) in Portuguese Azulejo workshops. Furthermore, the study suggests a preliminary empirical relationship between MBTI personality types and color-emotion associations. Results demonstrate that multisensory engagement enhances positive affect, well-being, cultural cognition, and culture preservation intent, establishing a cognition-emotion-behaviour model for cross-cultural art interventions. Methods Twenty-five participants (Mean age = 34.25) took part in a cross-cultural summer workshop. Emotional states were measured pre- and post-workshop using the Cultural Cognition and Culture Preservation intent, the Subjective Happiness Scale, and the PANAS. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test assessed changes in emotion ( p < 0.05). Due to sample size limitations, Pearson correlations were used to examine associations between emotional shifts and related factors (cultural cognition, culture preservation intent, well-being and affect). Spearman rank correlations were conducted to assess the relationship between creative stages and emotional response, and also attempt to analyze and compare the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) with the colors and emotions used in the works to dissect the impact of personality traits on emotions in the craft experience. Results Post-intervention, participants demonstrated significant improvements in cultural cognition ( p < 0.001), subjective well-being ( p = 0.003), and cultural preservation intent ( p < 0.001). Positive affect, as measured by the PANAS, increased significantly ( p < 0.001), while negative affect did not reach statistical significance ( p = 0.16). Emotional responses varied across production stages, with initial tactile phases eliciting anticipation, mid-stage emotions stabilizing, and late-stage fluctuations linked to outcome expectations. Furthermore, participants were influenced by different patterns of MBTI personality types in terms of color use and emotional expression. Discussion The study underscores the therapeutic value of multisensory craft experiences, particularly the role of tactile-visual synergy in emotional regulation. Cross-cultural craft workshops support cognitive engagement, emotional well-being, and protective behaviors, highlighting their potential as group-based therapeutic interventions.

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