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Table 2 Stages of Individual Impact<br />

Concurrent Impacts<br />

Those that occur during the<br />

experience<br />

Experienced impacts<br />

Observed post-event hours or<br />

days later<br />

Extended and<br />

cumulative Impacts<br />

Lifelong engagement/memory —<br />

weeks or years later<br />

Unconscious psycho-physical<br />

responses and states, such as:<br />

• Physiological response (heart<br />

rate, skin conductance)<br />

• Pre-cognitive response (arousal)<br />

• Captivation (flow, awe, absorption,<br />

concentration)<br />

• Energy and tension<br />

Short-term experienced impacts,<br />

such as:<br />

• Emotional affect and meaning<br />

• Spiritual uplift<br />

• Learning and critical reflection<br />

• Social connectedness<br />

• Aesthetic enrichment and<br />

creative activation<br />

These impacts can occur before,<br />

during and after experiences, but<br />

are typically measured afterwards.<br />

Delayed impacts of individual<br />

events, and impacts that accrue<br />

through repeated engagement in<br />

cultural activities over time, such<br />

as:<br />

• Memory of event<br />

• Sense of social belonging<br />

• Increased cultural capacity<br />

• Increased capacity for empathy<br />

• Expanded worldview<br />

• Health benefits<br />

• Subjective well-being<br />

It is beyond the purview of this review to consolidate these constructs and indicators,<br />

some arising from quantitative research and others arising from qualitative<br />

research, although there is clearly a good deal of overlap. By viewing this diverse<br />

body of research together, however, a general picture emerges of how the experience<br />

of arts and culture affects people over time (Table 2).<br />

The literature suggests that the impacts that individuals realise through cultural<br />

participation occur in a progression of three stages defined by their temporal<br />

proximity to the cultural event: concurrent impacts (sometimes measured<br />

through biometric research), experienced impacts (typically measured through<br />

post-event surveys and interviews), and extended impacts (typically assessed<br />

through retrospective interviewing and longitudinal tracking studies). While<br />

the boundaries between these stages are blurry and do not always track with the<br />

individual’s experience, we nevertheless find it useful to think about impacts<br />

as occurring in distinct stages as a means of understanding which impacts are<br />

captured through various research methodologies.<br />

Executive Summary 15<br />

UNDERSTANDING the value and impacts of cultural experiences

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