ASMR

Update: What ever happened to SensorAdi, the ASMR artist who almost lost his teaching job 8 years ago?

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

In 2015, I shared the incredible story of the ASMR artist, SensorAdi, who almost lost his job as a high school teacher in Poland because he created ASMR videos.

In summary, the parents of some of his students expressed concerns to school administrators about his ASMR videos on YouTube.  At that time, ASMR was not well known in Poland.  The administrators gave him an ultimatum, delete his strange videos or face disciplinary action.

SensorAdi, with the help of a lawyer and ASMR researchers (including myself), fought back by sharing published data and letters from scientists that supported ASMR videos were beneficial.  Soon after, the administrators understood the videos better and allowed him to keep his ASMR channel and his job. [LINK to the original story with more details]

That was 8 years ago.  Is SensorAdi still teaching high school?  Is he still creating ASMR videos?  How popular is ASMR in Poland today?

I reached out to SensorAdi (real name Adrian Biskup) for an update.  

Continue reading →

Participate in a research study about ASMR experiences, autobiographical memory, and psychosocial well-being.

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Desmond Chan is a graduate student (M.A. in media education), pursuing a doctoral degree in education at the University of Lapland in Finland.

His prior ASMR research project resulted in the publication, “University Students’ Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) Experiences in the Light of a Well-being Theory”

His new research project is investigating the relationships between ASMR experiences, autobiographical memory, and psychosocial well-being.

Desmond’s faculty supervisor for the study is Dr. Satu Uusiautti, a Professor at the University of Lapland.

Desmond is looking for participants to take his online survey, which has been reviewed and approved by his supervisor.

The survey is open to individuals who are over 18 years of age and have ASMR experience.

The survey is fully anonymous, will take about 5 minutes to complete, and the results will only be used for academic purposes.

Below is a link to the survey and more info. Continue reading →

Participate in a research study that involves watching ASMR videos for Auditory Training or Aural Rehabilitation.

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Do you have a perceived or diagnosed hearing impairment?  If so, then please consider participating in this ASMR research project led by Christine Cubelo.

Christine is a graduate student, pursuing a Master of Clinical Audiology at Universidad Isabel I, School of Advanced Education and Research Accreditation, in Spain.

Her research thesis explores the therapeutic use of ASMR among people with atypical sensory processing and includes an experimental trial of watching specific ASMR videos assigned by the researcher.

Her thesis is titled: “Reviewing Literature on Current Clinical Applications of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) and Exploring Potential Benefits of ASMR for Auditory Training”

Christine’s faculty advisor for the study is Dr. Nerea Ortega Castro, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Tutor for Masters Final Projects

Christine is looking for participants to complete a 2-Part experiment:

  1. Watch & listen to the assigned ASMR videos.
  2. Take an online survey.

The survey and video selection have been approved by the school faculty.

Who can participate in this study?

The study is open to adults aged 18 and up who have a perceived or diagnosed hearing impairment, have normal or corrected vision, are fluent in English, and are able to connect to YouTube from a personal device that has a loudspeaker embedded or connected. If you already use hearing aids and they are functioning normally, you are encouraged to continue wearing your hearing aids when completing the assigned videos. You are not required to have had prior ASMR experiences in order to participate.

The survey is fully anonymous, will take about 5-7 minutes to complete, and the results will only be used for academic purposes.

Below is a link to the survey and more info. Continue reading →

Participate in a research study that investigates the effects of the sound vs visual components of ASMR triggers.

/ Dr. Richard / 3 Comments

How does the response to an ASMR trigger change if it is sound only?  Visual only? Or a mix of Sound and Visual?

In this study, you will be asked about your prior ASMR and misophonia experiences, and then you will share your reactions to three ASMR stimuli types; acoustic (no video, only sound), visual (no sound, only video), and audiovisual (both).

This study is being conducted by Pauline Becker, a college student pursuing her B.Eng. in media engineering at Hochschule Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf.  Her faculty advisor is Prof. Dr. Jochen Steffens.

Her thesis is titled: “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response: The impact of acoustic, visual and audiovisual triggers in comparison”

Pauline is looking for participants to take her online survey. The survey is open to individuals of any age who experience ASMR.  The survey is fully anonymous, will take about 15 minutes to complete, and the results will only be used for academic purposes.

Below is a link to the survey and more info. Continue reading →

How many ASMR channels, ASMRtists, and ASMR videos are on YouTube?

/ Dr. Richard / 3 Comments

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This should be easy to answer, but it isn’t.  At least not for me.  I have figured out one way to get some ballpark numbers, but my methods may not be the easiest or the most accurate.

If you know a better way than what I describe below, then please reach out to me at asmruniversity@gmail.com.

I will begin by telling you the numbers I calculated and then I will explain how I achieved them.

Continue reading →

Participate in a research study about ASMR, misophonia, perception, emotion, and personality.

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Sounds like whispering and tapping can induce relaxation (like ASMR) or annoyance (like misophonia) in the listener.  The variety of these different responses to the same triggers is not well understood.

During this study, you will listen to a variety of sounds and rate how each one makes you feel.  You will also complete some questionnaires on general sensory sensitivity, emotional reactivity, and personality traits.  Your participation in this study may require 30-60 minutes.

This study is being conducted by student researcher Dodi Swan-Capper, post-doctoral research fellow Dr. Nora Andermane, and student researcher Mathilde Bauer.

The study is being supervised by Dr. Jamie Ward, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, from the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, and has been approved by the Sciences & Technology Cross-Schools Research Ethics Committee

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Participate in a research study about ASMR and immersive technology

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How important is immersion for the #ASMR experience?

The aim of this study is to use immersive technology and test your responses.  You will watch or listen to a selection of recorded content and answer questions about how you feel.

Adult ASMR experiencers are welcome to participate in this 20 minute study, which has been reviewed and approved by the Bath Spa University Ethics Committee

Being in a quiet place and using headphones are required for the best experience.  You will also have a chance to win a 25 or 50 $/£ voucher for Etsy/Amazon in an optional raffle at the end.

Continue reading →

Participate in a research study about ASMR, animated videos, and well-being

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Be the first to try out bespoke animated ASMR videos in a new collaboration between Norwich University of Arts, University of Essex, ASMRplanet & StudioGoblin.

The aim of this study is to test the effect of various animated videos on inducing ASMR and generating feelings of well-being.

ASMR experiencers and non-experiencers are welcome to participate in this 20 minute study, which has been reviewed and approved by the Norwich University of Arts Ethics committee.

Headphones are required for best experience, and you will also have a chance to win one of 20 £50 Amazon UK Vouchers.

Continue reading →