Faculty

Research Interests

Dr. Konečni has three primary research interests within experimental/social psychology. The first of these is a social-psychological analysis of legal decision-making. Specifically, he studies the factors that various participants in the legal system (police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, parole officers, etc.) take into account; he then develops causal models of legal decisions, such as the amount of bail and the length and type of sentence. In this work, there is a considerable emphasis on the use of multiple methods and the collection of data in field settings (e.g., court hearings and files).

His second area of interest is psycho-aesthetics -- the psychology of art, music, and theatre. Dr. Konečni has done research on the social, emotional, and cognitive antecedents of aesthetic preference and choice, and on the consequences of exposure to different types of art and music for social behavior and performance. Among the special topics he has studied are the 'golden section' in painting and architecture, the music of the Latin Requiem, and the relationship between music and emotion. Another long-term project has been the study of the listeners', viewers', and readers' comprehension of artist 'messages'.

Finally, he does work on the social, cognitive, and psychophysiological aspects of human emotion and motivation, especially on aggressive behavior (e.g., the 'cathartic effect') and the perception of emotional states in oneself and others.

Selected Publications

Konečni, V. J. & Ebbesen, E. B. (1982). An analysis of the sentencing system. In Konečni, V. J., & Ebbesen, E. B. (Eds.), The criminal justice system: A social-psychological analysis. (Pp. 293-332.) San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.

Konečni, V. J. (1982). Social interaction and musical preference. In D. Deutsch (Ed.), The psychology of music. (Pp. 497-516.) New York: Academic Press. (Translated into Japanese, Nihimura Co. Ltd., 1988.)

Konečni, V. J. (1991). Psychological aspects of the expression of anger and violence on the stage. Comparative Drama, 25, 215-241.

Konečni, V. J. (1991). Portraiture: An experimental study of the creative process. Leonardo, 24, 325-328.

Konečni, V. J., Ebbesen, E. B., & Hock, R. R. (1996). Factors affecting simulated jurors' decisions in capital cases. Psychology, Crime & Law, 2, 269-297.

Ebbesen, E. B., & Konečni, V. J. (1997). Eyewitness memory research: Probative v. prejudicial value. Expert Evidence, 5 (Nos. 1 & 2), 2-28.

Konečni, V. J. (1997). The vase on the mantelpiece: The golden section in context. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 15, 177-207.

Konečni, V. J. (1999). Expression and meaning in 'Tasol': Hedonic effects of development vs. chance in resolved and unresolved aural episodes. Musik Psychologie (Germany) 14, 102-123.

Konečni, V.J., Ebbesen, E.B., & Nehrer, E. (2000). Retrospective implications for the probative value of psychologists' testimony on eyewitness issues of exonerations by DNA evidence. Forensic psychology and law: Traditional questions and new ideas. Krakow, Poland: Institute of Forensic Psychology.

Konečni, V. J. (2001). The golden section in the structure of 20th-century paintings. Rivista di Psicologia dell'Arte (Italy), Nuova Serie, 22, 27-42.

Konečni, V. J., & Cline, L. E. (2001). The 'golden woman': An exploratory study of women's proportions in paintings. Visual Arts Research, 27, 69-78.

Konečni, V. J. (2003). Review of P. N. Juslin and J. A. Sloboda (Eds.), "Music and Emotion: Theory and Research." Music Perception, 20, 332-341.

Konečni, V. J. (2003). The golden section: Elusive, but detectable. Creativity Research Journal, 15, 267-276.

Konečni, V. J. (2004). The "golden section" as aesthetic idea and empirical fact. Visual Arts Research, 30, 75-86.

Konečni, V. J. (2005). The aesthetic trinity: Awe, being moved, thrills. Bulletin of Psychology and the Arts, 5, 27-44.

Konečni, V. J. (2007). Bad apples and bad barrels: Bad metaphors and blind spots regarding evil? American Psychological Society’s Observer, 20, No. 5 (May), 9-10.

Konečni, V. J., Wanic, R. A., & Brown, A. (2007). Emotional and aesthetic antecedents and consequences of music-induced thrills. American Journal of Psychology, 120, 619-643.

Konečni, V. J. (2007). Music and emotion: An empirical critique of a key issue in the philosophy of music. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference (Daugavpils, Latvia, October 2007) Person – Color – Nature - Music, 2007, 31-40.

Konečni, V. J., Brown, A., & Wanic, R. A. (in press). Comparative effects of music and recalled life-events on emotional state. Psychology of Music.