Psyche and the Literary Muses
The contribution of literary content to scientific psychology
Psyche and the Literary Muses focuses on the psychology of literature from an empirical point of view, rather than the more typical psychoanalytic position, and concentrates on literary content rather than readers or writers. The book centers on the author’s quantitative studies of brief literary and quasi-literary forms, ranging from titles of short stories and names of literary characters to clichés and quotations from literary sources, in demonstrating their contribution to the topics of learning, perception, thinking, emotions, creativity, and especially person perception and aging. More broadly, Psyche bears on literary studies, art, and psychology in general, as well as interdisciplinarity. This book deepens the understanding and appreciation of literature for scholars, academics and the general reader.
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature, 7] 2009. xiii, 209 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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List of tables | p. ix
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Preface | pp. xi–xiii
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Part 1. Introduction
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1. An orientation | pp. 3–5
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2. Similarities and differences across the psychology of art | pp. 7–13
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3. Competing psychological approaches to the arts: Clinical and scientific | pp. 15–29
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4. The status of the scientific psychology of art | pp. 31–37
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Part 2. The psychology of literature: An overview
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5. The psychology of literature: Comparisons with other psychologies of art | pp. 41–52
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6. A scientific psychology of literary content: Obstacles and steps towards a solution | pp. 53–63
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Part 3. The psychological relevance of brief literary forms
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7. Poetry, autobiographies, and titles: Their contribution to cognition, creativity, and physiognomic perception | pp. 67–77
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8. Literary names, indices, and clichés: Their contribution to physiognomic perception, emotions, and thinking | pp. 79–90
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9. Quotations: Their psychological usefulness | pp. 91–102
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Part 4. The psychological content of quotations: Person perception and attitudes to aging
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10. Person perception and the psychological attributes of the body | pp. 105–110
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11. A study of quotations on the psychological implications of the body | pp. 111–118
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12. Prologue: Aging and the arts | pp. 119–125
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13. Aging’s memorable lines: A study of quotations about growing old | pp. 127–130
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14. The preoccupations of aging: The subject matter of quotations | pp. 131–142
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15. Evaluations of aging in quotations | pp. 143–157
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Part 5. Conclusion
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16. Implications of a content-oriented psychology of literature | pp. 161–170
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Notes | pp. 171–188
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Index | pp. 205–209
“While there is growing interest in the psychology of beauty and aesthetics applied to visual art forms, literature is often given the short end of the stick. Psych and the Literary Muses is an example of beautiful writing in itself, with research results sprinkled about. How can the written word stir our souls, awaken our senses, and stimulate our thoughts? What properties of the text can have such an affect on the reader? By looking at the Psychology of literature from the vantage point of the text, Lindauer offers fresh and deep insight into the experience of reading, balancing work being done by psychology of creative writing researchers on the psychological quirks of the writer. Lindauer's broad knowledge base of literature shines through in his writing and only adds to the respectability of his ideas. By connecting the text to such diverse topics as person perception, creativity, learning, and even aging, Lindauer opens up avenues for research that scholars across a variety of fields may not have even known existed. At the same time, he creates bridges across those avenues in a way that scholars, readers, writers, and almost anyone with a healthy (or even unhealthy) dose of interest in the psychology of literature can relate and appreciate.”
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, (Co-Editor of The Psychology of Creative Writing)
“This is a book that could potentially become on the cutting edge of literary study. I have been impressed, over the years, with Prof. Lindauer's attempts to integrate the study of imaginative literature and contemporary psychology. As the editor of the literary journal, Style, and myself both an educational psychologist (U of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000) and a literary scholar (U of Illinois, UC, 1971), I am knowledgeable about developments in both fields. Prof Lindauer's book looks like a solid contribution to the developing paradigm of literary study and empirical psychology.”
Prof. Dr. John V. Knapp (Editor, Style), Northern Illinois University
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Psyche and the Literary Muses is even better than just an interdisciplinary perspective on literature, though it is interdisciplinary and as such offers something for everyone. Any fan of good literature will enjoy this volume, as will the clinician, the rigorous experimental psychologist, and everyone in between. With chapters on quotations, aging, clichés, poetry, and autobiographies, and Lindauer's optimally objective perspective, this is the best book yet on the psychology of literature.”
Mark A. Runco, University of Georgia, Athens
“If you love literature and wonder why, Lindauer shows you how words on a page carry a tone, tug at your feelings, and prompt your moods.”
John M. Kennedy, University of Toronto
“This book opens up a welcome prospect: alongside the existing psychology of how language works, Martin Lindauer proposes a thought-provoking new psychology of what language expresses.”
Keith Oatley, University of Toronto
Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
Peer, Willie & Anna Chesnokova
2019. What literature does to our emotions, and how do we know? Empirical studies will tell. Synopsis: Text, Context, Media :1(25) 
Escobar Borrego, Francisco Javier
2018. Apuleyo o la magia del amor: Arquetipos e imaginario mítico para un cuento de hadas y su recepción interdisciplinar contemporánea. Amaltea. Revista de mitocrítica 10 ► pp. 21 ff.
Gustavo A. Rodríguez Martín
2011. “I Often Quote Myself” (And Others): Modified Quotations in the Plays of Bernard Shaw. Shaw 31:1 ► pp. 192 ff.
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Subjects
Linguistics
Literature & Literary Studies
Psychology
Main BIC Subject
JMR: Cognition & cognitive psychology
Main BISAC Subject
PSY000000: PSYCHOLOGY / General