CREATIVE PERSUASION: ENHANCING WELL-BEING AND SELF-EFFICACY THROUGH THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This manuscript is intended as a first step in exploratory research to examine the efficacy of creative performance in entertainment-based health interventions, as well as the cognitive mechanisms for that efficacy. Creative performance for the purposes of this study is defined as engaging in an activity that requires the participant to use his or her body to creatively portray a character and/or enact a message. While much is known about the efficacy of entertainment-based health interventions, less empirical work has focused on how merely participating in creative performance promotes well-being. Well-being is psychological and mental health, which is more than the absence of mental disorder or disease, but rather the state of "optimal psychological functioning and experience" (Ryan & Deci, 2001). This document outlines a panel study that evaluates the degree to which active involvement in an immersive theatre camp leads to increases in well-being and self-efficacy for adolescents, as well as the theoretical basis for expecting such a result. A front matter table (p. vii) provides a reference for the key concepts and variables included in the study. The following chapters expand on the rationale for this work, including entertainment-education, benefits of creative performance, and the importance of well-being in adolescence.