# Observing versus creating flowers: a review of relevance for art therapy

## TL;DR

The paper compares emotional responses to images of real flowers, drawn flowers, and mandalas, showing that real flowers create stronger emotional connections than other types.

## Contribution

The study provides a nuanced comparison of embodied emotional responses to different visual representations of flowers in the context of art therapy.

## Key findings

- Participants showed stronger emotional connections to images of real flowers compared to drawn flowers.
- Drawn flowers and mandalas elicited more cognitive than emotional responses.
- The findings suggest implications for using nature images in art and nature therapy.

## Abstract

This paper compares the embodied aesthetic experience of three types of images: photographed flowers, drawn flowers, and mandalas, summarizing data from three former comparative papers. The findings denote the strong embodied emotional connection of participants (changes in mood expressed in neural and physiological responses) to images of real flowers, as compared to the more cognitive reactions to drawings of flowers and cognitive stimulation of flower-like mandalas. These findings are discussed in terms of methodological relevance for art therapy and nature therapy. While it is known that flowers arouse positive emotions, this more nuanced comparison has interesting implications for visual art therapy, and for the therapeutic effects of nature photos, as opposed to drawn interpretations of nature.