The Effects of Happy and Sad Dynamic Digital Art on Relieving Stress

Abstract

Experiencing psychological stress due to the demands of modern life is common, but engaging with innovative digital art has the potential to alleviate this stress and provide a source of relaxation. Moreover, the interactive and dynamic nature of digital art offers diverse and distinctive experiences. The aim of this article is to determine if the process of transferring dynamic digital art images while playing happy and sad music can have an impact on an individual's stress level. For the experiment, two congruent audio-visual digital art videos were used as stimuli to assess their potential stress-relieving effects. A total of 24 participants were invited to participate and were divided into 3 groups. To induce a stress response in the participants, the Trier Social Stress Test was employed in the experiment. Following this, two separate groups were shown videos with different emotional tones, namely joy and sadness. The third group was the control group. The study assessed changes in participants' stress levels before and after the experiment using two tools: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Empatica E4. According to the study, both happy and sad videos were effective in reducing stress levels. The findings of this research could inform the development of digital art as a potential tool for stress management and emotional intervention.

Keywords: Dynamic Digital Art, Music, Emotional Congruence, Interactivity, Stress

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004087