Psychology And Dance Research

The Connection Between Dance and Psychology Some individuals interpret dance as a form of art, while others think of it as a way of life. Psychologists have said that dancing is beneficial to the brain in many ways. Dance increases cognitive function and muscle memory during any moment when one is moving. Dancers have the ability to withstand dizziness because of their cerebral cortex adapting to the perception of vertigo throughout years of training. Dance can assist with health benefits such as stronger bones and endurance. If one participates in dance, there is a connection between the mind and body because of the psychological aspects that involve the memory and conditioning of one’s actions through their emotions.

Memory is a vital part of our life because if it did not exist, we would not be able to “operate in the present or think about the future” (McLeod). The psychological background of memory includes the process of information which consists of three stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Dancing requires the use of one’s memory while practicing or performing. Every time a dancer is taught new choreography they go through the process of encoding, which possesses three forms: visual, acoustic, and semantic. Dancers process new choreography by learning the steps and hearing the eight-counts that a routine is comprised of. When a dancer practices a routine, it is known as rehearsal, which is a psychological term. Rehearsal is a “verbal process regardless of whether” the information is either encoded “acoustically, or visually” (McLeod). Encoded information stays in storage until a dancer needs to access their short-term or long-term memory. The majority of adults, along with dancers, can collect five to nine items in their short-term memory. Psychologist George Armitage Miller called this idea “the magic number 7” in which he

But despite dancing, these three psychological elements support us every day because without psychology, we would not fully understand how and why people act the way they do. The study of psychology gives mankind the knowledge of informing individuals about how life works. Psychology is the reason why humans can move, learn, and talk. Dancing is only a piece of it and that makes it seem complicated. It may be quite simple but instead we develop a bigger and more complex idea that we cannot decipher. If we told all the psychologists in the world to think of a reason why, then we would still be uncertain due to the fact that there is so much we do not know yet. Although, some might say that if you love something you are more likely to do it because of passion. If we do not have passion or any form of emotion to help us strive for our goals, then maybe we are not genuinely living