ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book presents the doctoral studies in 2001 and focuses on what exhibitions are for. Aesthetic experience and imagination are old ideas in the museum field, and they continue to inform professional practice, especially in art institutions. A recent study published in the journal Science shows that people who had just read literary fiction performed better on tests measuring empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence than those who had read popular fiction or serious nonfiction. These are the skills associated with theory of mind. The researchers suggest that literary fiction often leaves more to the imagination, encouraging readers to make inferences about characters and be sensitive to emotional nuance and complexity. They postulate that theory of mind 'may be influenced by engagement with works of art'.
