The Experience of Social Rejection: Developmental Transformations and a Multimodal Art Response Model as Applied to Art-based Research

Abstract

In this preliminary study, we propose an expressive and interactive research method using a developmental transformations (DvT) model and a multimodal art response as applied to an art-based research (ABR) design, specifically relating to the experience of social rejection. We explored three research questions: Can the experience of social rejection be understood through playful interactions in DvT play? How does playing with the experience of rejection vary in solo play, play with an object, and play with a partner—i.e., otherness? How do researchers’ responses to participants enrich this understanding? This study delineates subjective and expressive ways of understanding the lived experience of social rejection through a multimodal approach, the DvT theory, and practice in an ABR design. Four DvT practitioners participated in a three-session pilot study, exploring rejection on their own and in pairs, then shared their experiences in a group discussion. Between sessions, the researchers shared their response films and visual response art with the participants. The outcomes of the study suggest that the experience of social rejection impacts both individual and partnered play, although its intensity seems to increase in pair interaction, and that response art supports participants’ exploration of this experience. Our research outcomes emphasized the need for expressive and interactive research methods, such as the application of DvT in ABR, in the study of complex and intersubjective social phenomena such as the experience of social rejection.