Yağmur Özbay, a PhD candidate in Social Psychology, studies how art can encourage us to face uncomfortable realities and reflect on them. Her research shows that art is more than a passion. It is a powerful tool that invites us to engage actively with complex social issues.

Can art help us face difficult issues?

Özbay’s work explores whether art can help people process difficult social topics. How do we successfully engage with painful subjects, rather than avoiding them? In an age where many people feel overwhelmed by negative content in the media, Özbay’s findings suggest that art offers a way forward. ‘Art encourages us to explore negative content and stay with it, which in turn creates space to witness other people’s stories and feelings, reflect on these, and potentially connect with them.’

The experiment: art versus non-art

To test the effects of art on engagement, Özbay and her colleagues designed experiments that presented participants with short descriptions of upsetting social situations. These included scenes of police violence, child labour, or attacks on civilians. After reading the descriptions, participants could choose whether they preferred an art painting or a news photograph. Both formats depicted the same negative themes, so any difference in response wasn’t due to the content itself.

Art holds our attention

The experiment showed that participants consistently chose to engage with artworks than with non-art images. They also spent more time looking at the artworks they selected. ‘People are drawn to content that is going to be thought-provoking and offers them a new perspective. Importantly, participants often reported that the artworks exceeded their expectations.’

Aesthetic distance

So how does art make difficult content easier to engage with? Özbay explains the concept of aesthetic distance, referring to the gap between what a viewer knows is real and the fictional world shown in a work of art. ‘Art presents reality through abstraction, creating a space for reflection rather than immediate emotional overwhelm. This allows people to process painful content without shutting down. At the same time, artworks often evoke mixed emotions: alongside sadness or grief, viewers might feel appreciation for beauty, color, or composition. These positive elements help balance the negative’, Yağmur Özbay explains.

Role of surprise

Özbay highlights the role of surprise as contributing to this effect. Because artworks are interpretations rather than direct representations of reality, they often show us something unexpected. This encourages viewers to stay longer with the image and reflect more deeply.

Beyond museums

Özbay points out that the power of art to engage us with difficult truths doesn’t have to stay inside museums or galleries. ‘Art gives us a way to reflect rather than reject, and to connect more deeply with others. If we value this power, we can find ways to bring art’s strengths into all corners of society. Not just the walls of galleries, but classrooms, screens, and shared public spaces like the park or streets.’

Research paper

Özbay, Y., Stamkou, E., & Oosterwijk, S. (2025). Art promotes exploration of negative content. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(5), e2412406122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412406122