In this podcast episode, you will hear participants in the Voices of ASMR project explain the following about their ASMR experiences:
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A peer-reviewed research study is the first to report physiological changes while individuals experience ASMR.
The publication is titled, “More than a feeling: ASMR is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology” and is authored by Giulia Lara Poerio, Emma Blakey, and Theresa Veltri from the University of Sheffield (UK) and Thomas Hostler from the Manchester Metropolitan University (UK). The research was published June 20, 2018 in the journal PLOS ONE.
The publication reported the results of two studies. The first study involved about 1000 participants watching videos and reporting how they felt. The second study involved about 100 participants watching videos, reporting how they felt, and having some physiological responses measured.
I will first summarize the methods and results of the first study, then summarize the methods and results of the second study.
Vladimir Fedoseev is a graduate student pursuing his MBA at the Varna University of Management in Varna, Bulgaria (a partner university of Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales).
His dissertation is investigating the involvement of ASMR in the service industry and is titled, “Effect of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) on Service User Experience”
This is an interesting topic. How do the caring dispositions, light touches, hand movements, and personal attention from hairdressers, servers, and hotel staff affect our experience (and perhaps the tips)? Does being able to experience ASMR influence these interactions?
You can take his survey (link below) to share your experiences and perspectives.
I initially reported about this published study on November 1, 2017, but this article will now share more details and summarize the data.
The study is titled, “Sensory determinants of the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR): understanding the triggers” and was published October 6, 2017 in PeerJ by Emma Barratt, Charles Spence, and Nick Davis.
Of historical note, Barratt and Davis were the co-authors of the first ASMR research study published in 2015. In this new study they investigate some of the traits of ASMR triggers.
Last month I reported about a research project looking for participants to view and respond to animations of synthetic ASMR triggers.
The project is now complete and Marcus Nystrand, an undergraduate student at Beckmans College of Design in Sweden, has shared the results publicly.
Some of the results surprised us both.
Marcus Nystrand is an undergraduate student in the Visual Communications program at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm, Sweden.
For his graduation project he decided to create videos with synthetic ASMR triggers and survey if they are able to stimulate ASMR in viewers.
What are “synthetic ASMR triggers?” Marcus created computer-generated animations that have some properties of ASMR triggers (e.g., movements, sounds) but without the presence of human forms (e.g., hands) or human objects (e.g., brushes).
In short, his project is asking, “Can non-human motions, items, and sounds trigger ASMR?”
His animations are extremely high quality, very imaginative, and deeply mesmerizing. Will they trigger your ASMR?
Read on to learn a bit more about his project, then click the link to view his amazing videos and answer his short survey questions.
Jake Gyllenhaal (actor in Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler) does a short interview with W Magazine which includes ASMR triggers.
He whispers about his day, plays with an old style camera, and twists bubble wrap. He also bangs a chisel into wood with a rubber mallet, which may not be so ASMR-inducing for many individuals.
On the YouTube channel, Miu Miu, several actors join forces to create individual and collaborative ASMR videos. The clips are less than a minute long and mostly involve whispering or quiet talking.
The Miu Miu team includes Sadie Sink (Stranger Things 2, Annie), Dakota Fanning (I am Sam, War of the Worlds, Charlotte’s Web), Elle Fanning (We Bought a Zoo, Maleficent), Julia Garner (Ozark, The Americans, We Are What We Are), and Chloë Sevigny (American Psycho, Big Love, American Horror Story).
Click the links below to view their ASMR videos:
Dr Agnieszka Janik McErlean is the lead author of the publication, “Assessing individual variation in personality and empathy traits in self-Reported Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.”
At the time of the publication she was a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at James Cook University in Singapore. In January 2018, she will be a Senior Lecturer in the Dept of Psychology at Bath Spa University in the UK.
Dr Janik McErlean co-authored the paper with Dr Michael Banissy and the research was published March 30, 2017 in the journal Multisensory Research.
In my interview with Dr Janik McErlean she shares how she became interested in researching ASMR, the goals and methods of her study, the insights she uncovered about ASMR triggers, and her findings about the personality and empathy traits of ASMR responders.
This is the fourth peer-reviewed research study about ASMR. It was published March 30, 2017 in the journal Multisensory Research.
The research paper is titled, “Assessing individual variation in personality and empathy traits in self-Reported Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response”.
Murray is an actor and IT technologist with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Media Technology. He currently lives in Nova Scotia, Canada with prior residence in New Zealand and Scotland.
Murray also resides on YouTube as ASMR Muzz, posting relaxing Scottish-accented videos and tranquil ASMR trigger sounds.
In my interview with Murray he shares memories of ASMR from his youth, his inspiration for creating ASMR videos, his most popular video, his challenges creating content, his tips for new ASMR artists, and how his videos may be helping others.
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