Cretien van Campen

Cretien van Campen (born 24 January 1963) is a Dutch author, editor and scientific researcher in social science and fine arts. He is the founder of Synesthetics Netherlands and is affiliated with the Netherlands Institute for Social Research | SCP. He is best known for his work on synesthesia and studies of quality of life.

Author He is the author of the books “The Proust Effect” (2014), “The Hidden Sense” (2007), “Tussen zinnen” (Between Senses) (2005), “Beeldillusies” (Pictorial Illusions) (1994), and “Gestalt van Goethe tot Gibson” (Gestalt from Goethe thru Gibson) (1994). In the last two books he explored the crossroads of artistic and scientific experiments with visual perception. From the mid-nineties he focussed on multisensory perception and synesthesia in art and science, resulting in the bestselling Tussen zinnen in the Netherlands and the internationally acclaimed The Hidden Sense.

Editor Van Campen was editor of the Leonardo online bibliography Synesthesia in Art and Science and founder and web editor of Synesthetics Netherlands, a non-profit organization, hosting e.g. the Netherlands web community of synesthesia. He started editing during his studies as an editor of Psychopolis, an academic magazine of theoretical psychology. After graduation, he compiled a series of bibliographies on health care for the Netherlands Institute of Primary Care (NIVEL). From 1994-2000 he was editor and later editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Psychology & Maatschappij (Psychology & Society), an interdisciplinary social scientific journal that was based in the critical psychology movement.

Scientific researcher He has been affiliated with the Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP as Chief Scientific Strategist, the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences as an associate lector (2012 - 2017), and with Synesthetics Netherlands as an independent researcher and consultant. He obtained a M.A. in psychology with minors in philosophy and cultural studies, and a Ph.D. in history of art (and psychology) at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. During the past two decades he has been involved in two lines of research: perception and quality of life.

Fields of interest

Perception In his Ph.D. study that resulted in the book Gestalt from Goethe to Gibson (1994), The results were published nationally and internationally. The experiments became popular and got attention from hundreds of synesthetes in the Netherlands, mediated by articles and items in the Dutch media, which resulted in the Netherlands Web Community of Synesthesia and a number of workshops and conferences on synesthesia in art and science. The demand for information on synesthesia resulted in the book Tussen zinnen. van Campen became acquainted with the research subject of quality of life, focussing on health and happiness. Since the early nineties, he participated in series of studies on quality of health care services from the patient’s perspective at the Netherlands Institute of Primary Health Care (NIVEL) and Maastricht University. Later he participated in a number of studies into quality of care and quality of life in nursing homes, e.g. a collaborative study of the NIVEL institute and the Free University Amsterdam.

In 1998, he moved to the Netherlands Institute of Social Research (SCP), the national institute on well-being, where he broadened the scope from health and health care to citizen’s participation in work, leisure time activities and social activities. At SCP he published a series of research reports on the quality of life and participation of frail elderly and persons with physical disabilities. Currently, van Campen pursues a research program into the competences of persons with disabilities in the research field of positive psychology. Internationally, van Campen gave lectures on comparisons of quality of life in the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. His article with SCP-colleague Jurjen Ledema, Are persons with physical disabilities who participate in society healthier and happier? Frail Older Persons in the Netherlands.,, Steering on happiness., Ageing in Care (2013), and Happy in a Nursing Home? (2017).

Selected bibliography

In English Campen, Cretien van (2014). The Proust Effect. The Senses as Doorways to Lost Memories. Oxford: OUP. Campen, Cretien van (2007). The Hidden Sense. Synesthesia in Art and Science. Cambridge: MIT Press. Campen, C. van (2007). The importance of being healthy: Changing views on the ‘good life’ in The Netherlands since 1945. In: J. Stam & R. Veenhoven (Eds.) . Amsterdam: KIT Publishers (pp. 62–71). Campen, C. van & Iedema, J. (2007). Are persons with physical disabilities who participate in society healthier and happier? Structural equation modelling of objective participation and subjective well-being. Quality of Life Research vol. 16, nr. 4, pp. 635–645. Campen, C. van & van Gameren, E. (2005). ‘Eligibility for Long-term Care in the Netherlands: Development of a Decision Support System.’ In: Health and Social Care in the Community vol. 13, nr. 4, pp. 287–296.

In Dutch Campen, C. & D. Verbeek-Oudijk (2017). Gelukkig in een verpleeghuis? Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. Campen, C. van, M. Broese van Groenou, D. Deeg en J. Iedema (2017). Langer zelfstandig. Ouder worden met hulpbronnen, ondersteuning en zorg. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. Campen, Cretien van (red.)(2011). Kwetsbare ouderen. Den Haag: SCP. Campen, Cretien van (2010). Gekleurd verleden. Verhalen over het geheugen van de zintuigen. Utrecht: Uitgeverij Zien. Campen, Cretien van (2005). Tussen zinnen. Synesthesie of hoe de zintuigen samenwerken. Utrecht: Uitgeverij Zien. Campen, Cretien van (1994). Beeldillusies: gezichtsbedrog in afbeeldingen sinds de renaissance. De Bilt: Cantecleer. Essays over geluk: Campen, C. van (2008). 1948, toen was geluk heel gewoon. In: Vroeger was het beter. SCP-nieuwjaarsuitgave 2008. Den Haag: SCP (pp. 130–134). Campen, C. van (2007). Bruto nationaal geluk: een proef op de som. In: Veel geluk in 2007, SCP-nieuwjaarsuitgave 2007. Den Haag: SCP, pp. 19–23. Campen, C. van (2006). ‘Wat is welzijn tegenwoordig nog?’ In:? Altijd een antwoord. SCP-nieuwjaarsuitgave 2006. Den Haag: SCP. Campen, C. van (2005). ‘Een gelukkige geest in een cosmetisch lichaam.’ In: Hier en daar opklaringen. SCP-Nieuwjaarsuitgave 2005. Den Haag: SCP, pp. 42–45.