This summer, Leiden University will be setting up camp at Lowlands with two research projects. From a spine-chilling haunted house to a silent performance steeped in symbolism, participants are invited to explore their fears and feelings, and in doing so, contribute to scientific research.
How do you deal with fear? And what does your response to silence say about you? Lowlands festivalgoers can find out for themselves this summer, as Lowlands Science places them at the centre of two Leiden research projects.
Lowlands' haunted house
Anyone entering the haunted house created by clinical psychology researchers Linda de Voogd and Laura Nawijn will find themselves in an abandoned laboratory full of dark corridors, sudden noises and scary apparitions. But behind the horror lurks science. The researchers will measure the participants' heart rates, blood pressure and emotions both before and after their visit. The key question is: how do people regulate their fear, and how does this benefit them?
After the experience, participants will be asked how they dealt with their fears. Did they fully confront their fears? Did they use any strategies to stay calm? By comparing the various ways of dealing with fear, the researchers hope to acquire new knowledge that will contribute to treatments for anxiety disorders. Personal characteristics such as personality and alcohol consumption will also be factored in. This unique study therefore offers both excitement and valuable information about how people deal with intense emotions outside of the clinical setting.
Expressive silences
A few hundred metres away, the atmosphere will be completely different. In the performance entitled Sprekende Stiltes ('Expressive Silences'), developed by cultural scientist Gerlov van Engelenhoven and social psychologist Tom Frijns (Utrecht University), participants will step into a mysterious container. But there won't be any screaming crowds here - instead, images, smells, dance and sounds will try to convey a message without using words. Artist Loretta Lau will dance, Finn Maätita will provide a soundscape and photographer Michelle Piergoelam's images will convey stories that suggest more than they show.
Festivalgoers will participate in the performance and later record their interpretations and experiences. The experiment investigates the extent to which the audience picks up on the intended message - such as solidarity or resistance - and the role that verbal explanation or collective movement (synchronisation) plays in that. This experiment thus offers information about how art can communicate beyond language and how silences can connect rather than divide.
Science in the wild
Both studies will be using Lowlands' unique character to their advantage, as it's a place where people are open to new experiences. The data collected will be used to gain new scientific findings. At the same time, participants will go home with something personal: knowledge about themselves, their emotions and how they deal with tension and silence.
