The Psychology of Collecting
How Nature Reboots the Brain
by Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. In modern life, with its high-speed internet, AI exposure, and stress-ridden workplaces, we rarely take the time to relax. But what if the antidote to ...
How Creativity Drives Desire: Exploring the Neural Mechanisms of Creativity and How they Relate to Collecting
by Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. Creativity is not just for artists—it’s present in solving problems, making jokes, or even collecting objects. The process of collecting activates a variety of brain ...
A Museum of the Mind: Dataland
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. In late 2025, an unprecedented art center will open in Los Angeles: Dataland, the world’s first museum dedicated to AI-generated art. Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol ...
Vinyl Records and the Meaning of Music Memorabilia: Identity, Beauty, and Belonging
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. Music memorabilia—especially vinyl records—serves as more than a nostalgic nod to the past. For many collectors, it is an intricate, deeply personal, and socially meaningful ...
A Human Brain Turned to Glass
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. As a collector, I am always looking for the next best thing. The thought of it delights my brain even more than having it. That ...
Adult Doll Collecting: A Therapeutic Obsession
by Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. Elizabeth Kraft Taylor, author of Three Jews Walked into a Shopping Center, recalls her infatuation with dolls. “It started when I was about 30 years ...
Navigating the Heartache of Deaccession
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. January is an important sale month at many auction houses. Once again, I’m in the game. The last time this happened, I was a nervous ...
The Gift of You: How Reflecting Your Own Identity Creates Closer Bonds
By Shirley M. Mueller, MD The study “Give a Piece of You: Gifts That Reflect Givers Promote Closeness” challenged my assumptions about gifting. Until I encountered this research, I thought ...
Collecting, Life Satisfaction, and Personality Traits
by Shirley M. Mueller, MD Insights from a Big Five Analysis: Mõttus et al. (2024) In a study by Mõttus et al. (2024), researchers examined de-identified data from 9,110 Dutch residents, ...
Collecting With Purpose: Completing a Set
Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. A set embodies a higher good to the collector than use or as a collectible alone. Collecting can satisfy a number of needs, from social interaction ...
Human Touch vs. Machine Precision: AI’s Impact on Art Collecting
by Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. For collectors who like art, especially sculpture, the National Sculpture Society annual meeting is the place to be September 19th-22nd, 2024. Held in Indianapolis, IN, ...
Collectors, Hoarders, and Peculiarities
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D Although one-third of the American population, roughly 107 million, collect one thing or another, far fewer are hoarders. They include only 2-3 percent of the entire ...
From Tangible to Digital: The Evolution of Collecting in the Modern Era
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. Most collectors acquire their treasures through traditional methods – purchasing from dealers or at auctions that specialize in physical items within their areas of interest ...
Personality Traits of Collectors: Who are you?
by Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. In the past, I wrote about collector personalities and their relationship to specific art preferences. For example, what can we tell about the traits of ...
Child Collectors
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. Beatrice Beatrice is seven years old and in first grade (she also takes advanced courses with older children throughout the day.) Though her name may ...
Nostalgia’s Siren Call: Unpacking the Collector’s Sentimental Journey
By Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. Hello – I’m Shirley M. Mueller, and I am delighted to be writing for the Journal of Antiques and Collectibles. My columns going forward will ...
From Holiday Joy to January Auctions: Navigating the Heartache of Deaccession
by Shirley M. Mueller, M.D ...