The analysis of the relationship between domestic visitors’ social tendencies and their attachment to the objects exhibited at the National museum of Iran

ABSTRACT

The current study is based on the hypothesis of visitors’ social tendency towards visiting objects on display in the National Museum of Iran which, if proven, could contribute to and promote the position of museums in Iran. The data analysis adopted in this research includes correlation and descriptive statistical analysis. The social tendencies were recognized through interviews with museum professionals. Subsequently, the appropriate terms for each tendency were defined, using a questionnaire filled out by domestic visitors over 18 years old. The results illustrated a significant relationship between cognitive and identity tendencies of individuals. Nonetheless, the relationship between emotional tendencies was not evident. Therefore, the findings indicated that it is necessary to increase the focus of this museum on the cognitive aspects of the visit. Based on the visitors’ identity, the arrangement of the objects needs to be in an appropriate order so as to highlight the specific features of the Iranian identity such as language and geography.

KEYWORDS:

• Social tendencies
• exhibition of objects
• museum visitors
• social attachment
• museum
• National museum of Iran

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Dr Mehrnaz Azadi Boyaghchi is a researcher in conservation fields. She is holding an Associate Professor position in Art University of Isfahan in Department of Conservation of Cultural and Historical Properties, Faculty of Conservation and Restoration.

Mehdi Hodjat has a PhD in preservation of historical monuments from York University, England. He is one of the founders of Cultural Heritage Organization in Iran. He is currently chairman of Iran ICOMOS.

Hassan Ghaseminejad Raeini is Museologist and PhD student in conservation of historical objects, Art University of Isfahan, Iran. He has worked at Islamic art museum of Berlin as a researcher on collection of Persian seals. He also has worked as lecturer in Art University of Isfahan for 8 years.