Art and Human Development

Because art is cool on its own.

This encyclopedia entry describes human artistic engagement across the lifespan and associated developmental outcomes. Art is categorized by four modalities: dance, drama, music, and visual art. The stages of development discussed are early childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The entry describes the origins of early artistic activity, followed by a summary of art, culture, and society. It then explains underlying processes of how art increases adaptive cognitive and socioemotional development and briefly reviews each developmental stage in relation to artistic engagement and outcomes.