As you begin reading this month’s post, take a moment to pull out your phone or consider digging out a physical photo album, if you still have one! As you begin this exercise, locate a few images that were taken to capture significant moments in your life so far. Perhaps you find an image of a loved one, a beloved pet, a beautiful landscape, or something that represents an accomplishment you have experienced. What types of emotions can you feel simply by viewing this image and recalling the memory it encompasses? Do you feel a rush of pride, contentment, joy, peace, or wonder? Your experience may even feel adjacent to living this moment all over again.
In a study published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers sought to discover whether photo-taking during experiences enhanced real-life enjoyment when participants looked back at the images they captured. This field study provided participants with an opportunity to snap photos during normal, “everyday” tasks and sought to answer the question, “Do people enjoy or engage in tasks, even mundane ones, to a greater degree when they choose to take photographs of these experiences?” Several research participants took photos during double-decker city bus tours and others engaged in photographing their dining experience at a farmers’ market food court. Overall, researchers designed nine distinct situations to discover the answer to the research question around whether photographing experiences results in an increase in enjoyment and feelings of engagement.
Across the studies, researchers found behavioral evidence and self-report measures that photo-taking strengthens enjoyment of positive experiences, including everyday moments that at first glance, do not appear to be intensely stimulating or outwardly exciting. These feelings of engagement or positivity do not result immediately after capturing the photo instead, these fulfilling feelings occurred later upon reviewing the photos.
So what does this mean for you as an educator embarking on a new school year? One idea put forth in the current research is that when people intentionally choose the moments they want to photograph, the memories associated with these experiences could be enhanced by the decision to take the photo in the first place. Physical items, such as photos, can serve as reminders of important experiences and even increase our ability to recall the connected memories, even years into the future when we capture elements of the sensory experience within the situation.
As you begin a fresh year with new students, families, or perhaps you are taking on an unfamiliar role or position, consider the experiences you want to intentionally capture over the coming days and months. What moments of success, energy, or tranquility will you want to recall when you need or desire a moment of positive reflection? When you experience moments of frustration, fatigue, or sadness, which memories will serve as anchor points to support you in continuing to be the educator you most strive to be? Whether you use your phone to capture these memories, physically print them and place them in an album, or create an email folder full of these visuals, you can capture your most meaningful moments for years to come. Whether it’s a candid shot of you and a co-worker at a school potluck, a note a student left for you, or a sunrise outside of the building when you enter, you don’t have to be a photographer with the latest equipment to create a priceless collection of memories.
Citation: “How Taking Photos Increases Enjoyment of Experiences,” by Kristin Diehl, PhD, University of Southern California; Gal Zauberman, PhD, Yale University; and Alixandra Barasch, PhD, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published online June 6, 2016.
Patricia Lehmann
Scotti Hagensick
