Supporting the psychological health of our students: An arts-based community magic workshop for adapting to university life.

Bagienski, Steven E.; Kuhn, Gustav

doi:10.1037/cns0000315

Cited by 4 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…68 In summary, the magic intervention program used in the present study significantly raised the participants' level of self-esteem, which is consistent with previous studies. [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Prior research has suggested that interventions aimed at improving self-esteem may lead to a reduction in depressive symptoms. 17,18 The magic intervention process in our study, which encompassed witnessing magic, uncovering magic secrets, and performing magic acts, offered various plausible mechanisms that may contribute to the improvement of depressive symptoms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…37 Similarly, college students participating in magic workshops experienced greater self-esteem and well-being benefits compared to those in mindfulness workshops, as shown by a qualitative analysis. 42 Also, Bagienski et al observed increased self-efficacy in 75 adolescents after mastering a magic trick considered impossible. 43 Success in meeting expectations in a valuable area, such as magic, can increase self-esteem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…44 The self is created by the opinions of others 45 and performing magic helps to gain social support and build positive relationships, and may thus increase self-esteem. 42 Through a generalised self-efficacy, mastery of magic can be extended to other areas, particularly when magic is valued by the individual, and the self-efficacy of performing magic may mediate selfesteem enhancement. 43 In short, learning and performing magic tricks for an audience can improve self-esteem, a key aspect of psychological wellbeing, and potentially alleviate depressive symptoms in older adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of a magic‐based intervention on self‐esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among community‐dwelling older adults: a randomised controlled trial

et al. 2023

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Background Magic‐based programs have been utilised to enhance well‐being across various health aspects. However, there is a lack of studies on whether performing magic tricks can provide mental health benefits for older adults living in the community. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of a magic‐based intervention program on self‐esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life (QOL), and to examine the relationship between these factors in older adults. Methods Thirty‐eight participants, aged 60–90 years, were randomly assigned to either a magic intervention group or a control group. The magic intervention program, tailored for older adults, was conducted for 90 min, twice weekly, over 6 weeks. The Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (RSE), the 15‐item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS‐15), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life‐BREF scores were measured and analyzed in both groups before and after the intervention. Results The magic‐based intervention significantly increased self‐esteem and reduced depressive symptoms in older adults, with large effect sizes. However, no significant impact on QOL was observed. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between the improvement in self‐esteem and the reduction in depressive levels. Despite this, a moderate but significant negative correlation was detected between the post‐intervention scores of RSE and GDS‐15 in the magic intervention group. Conclusions The study demonstrated that the magic intervention program was beneficial in promoting mental health in community‐dwelling older adults. Implementing magic programs in communities appears to be an effective approach to enhance self‐esteem and alleviate depressive symptoms in the older population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of a magic‐based intervention on self‐esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among community‐dwelling older adults: a randomised controlled trial

et al. 2023

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“…The magic trick lesson was based on a segment from the magic workshops reported elsewhere that yielded improvements in self-esteem for undergraduates (Bagienski & Kuhn, 2022). Two tricks were selected and were as similar as possible to minimize confounds.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preliminary evidence for why magic might enhance self-efficacy comes from prior studies showing that learning to perform magic can boost self-esteem. Self-esteem increases were observed in studies of children with disabilities (Ezell & Klein-Ezell, 2003; Fancourt et al, 2020; Spencer, 2012), in English language learners 1 (Spencer & Balmer, 2020) and in first-year undergraduate students (Bagienski & Kuhn, 2022). Themes of pride have also been observed qualitatively from descriptions of discovering secrets to magic tricks (Danek et al, 2014).…”

Section: Designing An “Impossible” Interventionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Mastering the impossible: Piloting an easier-than-expected magic intervention that acts as a source of self-efficacy.

Bagienski¹,

Kuhn²,

Goddard³

et al. 2022

Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice

Self Cite

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The greatest achievements often arise from challenging the status quo of what is thought to be possible. These types of achievements require certain beliefs about one’s capabilities, but little has been done to explore the value of imaginal self-efficacy sources. We conceptually argue that a potent source of self-efficacy is an actual mastery experience that is also perceived as impossible. As a result, this experience contains advantages of both imaginal and actual success experiences. In part, this result is due to the conscious awareness of social reactions to a seemingly impossible event. Based on this argument, we created a brief arts-based intervention that involved learning a simple magic trick to create an “imaginal mastery experience” and piloted the intervention by measuring its impact on self-efficacy. Our results suggest that the pilot intervention may have enhanced participants’ personal self-efficacy. Participants overestimated the difficulty of the trick, whereas their confidence in performing it increased. A thematic analysis of how participants perceived their audience’s social reaction revealed that the magic trick involved surprise, curiosity and interest, confusion, and other positive emotions. Psychological theories and directions for future work on developing this pilot intervention are discussed.

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Relationships between arts participation, social cohesion, and wellbeing: An integrative review and conceptual model

Sonke,

Pesata,

Colverson

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Arts and cultural strategies have increasingly been engaged by the public health sector to enhance community health and wellbeing, as well as to address the significant health risks posed by social isolation and loneliness. While increasing studies document relationships between arts participation, social cohesion, and wellbeing uniquely, few studies have investigated the relationships between all three and, to date, no evidence synthesis has been conducted on this topic. To address this gap, this integrative review aimed to identify, describe, and synthesize research on arts participation, social cohesion, and wellbeing in a community context by addressing the question: what is the evidence base regarding relationships between arts participation, social cohesion, and well-being?? Literature searches were conducted using 10 databases, and 18 articles met inclusion criteria – 16 original research articles and two reviews. Results provide insights on modes and forms of arts participation, along four themes that articulate dimensions of and relationships between arts participation, social cohesion, and well-being, as distilled from the studies. Further, this review offers a conceptual model derived from these themes. The model depicts the relationships found between these concepts in the articles, and highlights specific components of these relationships that may help to guide future practice, research, and policy that seeks to leverage the power of the arts to build social cohesion and wellbeing in communities. Prospective studies are needed to test these relationships as well as the potential role of social cohesion as a mechanism for building well-being in communities.

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Supporting the psychological health of our students: An arts-based community magic workshop for adapting to university life.

Cited by 4 publications

References 80 publications

The effects of a magic‐based intervention on self‐esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among community‐dwelling older adults: a randomised controlled trial

The effects of a magic‐based intervention on self‐esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among community‐dwelling older adults: a randomised controlled trial

Mastering the impossible: Piloting an easier-than-expected magic intervention that acts as a source of self-efficacy.

Relationships between arts participation, social cohesion, and wellbeing: An integrative review and conceptual model

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