Increasing productivity in graduate students fulfilling thesis requirements via tactile art
Graduation Date
Spring 2016
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Degree Granting Institution
Notre Dame de Namur University
Program Name
Art Therapy
Dean
John Lemmon, PhD
First Reader
Amy Backos, PhD, ATR-BC
Second Reader
Jennifer Harrison, PsyD, ATR-BC, DAAETS
Abstract
Mental health among university students represents a growing concern, particularly in relation to stress caused by procrastination. The student researcher hypothesized graduate and doctoral students would show increased productivity and decreased procrastination on thesis related work following a tactile-based art intervention. The student researcher utilized a clay-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) art intervention on graduate and doctoral students to study its effectiveness on reducing procrastination and stress on thesis related tasks. The art directive specifically targeted the concepts of experiential avoidance and haptic perception in clay. This pretest-posttest study yielded twenty-one participants and found approaching significance in the use of tactile art to increase empathy in one’s thesis work. The study also examined current stress levels, procrastination ratings, and methods for procrastination amongst this population. The current study provides insightful information that may spark future research in the field of art therapy, tactile art, procrastination, and empathy in the graduate and doctoral student population.