Expressive Psychology

The sociopsychological activity of human beings pivots around two dynamics. The first is experience, by which our internal cognitive and emotional faculties endeavour to interpret intrinsic and extrinsic sensory stimuli. The second is expression, by which we seek to communicate that experience. While Experiential Psychology studies the former, Expressive Psychology examines the latter. Thereby, Expressive Psychology is the psychological analysis of how we outwardly express our internal experience. Though we often express ourselves to others, we are sometimes our only audience, as we witness what we say and do in the privacy of our own company. In both circumstances, the purpose of our linguistic and somatic expressions is often to communicate a message to a recipient. Yet not every expressive action is explicatively communicative because some experience is beyond explanation. Nonetheless, we can express it. The acoustic and somatic language of voice and body are primary channels for communication and are particularly suited to explicable experiences. Meanwhile, the arts remain indispensable to the expression of experience we struggle to explain through the syntactical structure of words and body language. And our most extreme and significant positive and experience is often beyond words. Thereby, Expressive Psychology is the methodological study of how we express our experience through every channel available to us, encompassing the acoustic and somatic signification and multiple modes of artistic production. The Expressive Psychology project undertakes this study.