Art of Observation

          You are invited to participate in a voluntary research study measuring perceptions of portrait art.  You will remain anonymous.   This exercise will take about 10 minutes.  You may stop and take a short break, but if you want your data to be recorded, do not close your browser until you see a thank-you message. 

 

          You may log in as Just Looking and then Process to preview the test, but then please close your browser and re-enter by revisiting the link below to take the test for real.  Log in as “Doing This for Real” in the top menu.  Select an appropriate identity from the pull-down menu.  Enter the password if you were given one.  (We welcome responses from anonymous subjects who attempt to accurately record their perceptions).  You may enter an optional comment.  Data are saved at the end of the test along with the group into which you put yourself when you logged in and any password or comment you entered.  No other information (such as your IP address) is recorded; your personal identity is anonymous unless you put your name in the comment field.

 

          You will see all possible pairs of 9 portraits three times.  In the first (unconstrained, nonjudgmental) evaluation, please move the slider to indicate the extent to which you perceive the pair of portraits as similar or different in terms of the intended emotion of the subject.  The left-most position would be for two portraits that are very similar (such as two old dark Dutch masters in formal poses).  The right-most position would be for two portraits that are as different as you can imagine (Homer Simpson and Mona Lisa, for example).  In the second and third evaluations you are forced to choose which portrait shows more of the characteristic described in the question above each pair.  You do not need to take a long time to answer each question; try not to be random, but you may go with your first impression.

 

          Preliminary data suggest that lay-persons and professional artists respond differently in this test.  We hope to demonstrate that our Art of Observation course improves the observational skills of medical students.  We eventually hope to do a similar test with medical images. 

          This study has been reviewed and approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at the University of Texas – Houston (713 500-5898) as HSC-MS-03-193.  If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions you may contact Dr. Lincoln Gray (713 500-5429 or lgray@uth.tmc.edu).  We gratefully acknowledge the support of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TIAA-CREF, and the Dean's Master-Teacher Awards.

 

          CLICK HERE to start observing the art.  Thank you for your participation in this research.

          CLICK HERE if you want to read more about the art of observation.