Published research study examines the content and comments of ASMR videos

June 5, 2019June 5, 2019 / Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Alexsandra Kovacevich and David Huron at Ohio State University have published a research paper about the content and comments of ASMR videos.

Their paper is titled, “Two Studies of ASMR: The Relationship between ASMR and Music-Induced Frisson” and was published in Fall 2018 in the peer-reviewed journal, Empirical Musicology Review.

In this paper, the authors report the results of two studies. The first study analyzed the content of ASMR videos and the second study analyzed comments about ASMR videos.

Below is a summary of their paper, followed by links to the published manuscript, supplementary materials, and a commentary article.

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Published research study examines how expectations can affect ASMR

August 27, 2018October 31, 2018 / Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Daniella Cash, Laura Heisick, and Megan Papesh from Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, LA have published a research study about expectations and ASMR.

The study is titled aptly, “Expectancy effects in the ASMR” and was published August 22, 2018 in the journal PeerJ. Links to this paper and a follow up commentary paper are at the end of this article.

I’m often asked why only some individuals experience ASMR. The answer is that no one knows. Yet. The easiest answer could be that the response is dependent on a specific gene sequence – you either have it or you don’t.

But life is never that simple.

It is believed that experiencing ASMR is more likely to occur while being in a relaxing setting, having a calm mind, selecting a preferred trigger type and style, and even perhaps not being on specific drugs or medications which could interfere with ASMR.

What about the influence of life experiences, culture, or expectations? Particularly expectations. Expectations could be a part of the magic behind the placebo effect.

Could the placebo effect explain ASMR? Or what about vice versa? Maybe ASMR could explain the placebo affect in specific cases?

Visualize a clinician handing you a pill – that is a moment filled with personal attention, caring behaviors, a soft voice, and probably the light touch of their hand on yours, as well as, a reassuring hand on your back as you walk out of their office.

How about meeting with a therapist on a regular basis? A weekly dose of hyper-focused personal attention from a trained expert with a soft and steady voice – that is an ASMR recipe. If therapy sessions help you feel calmer, then is it the wisdom, the insights, the ASMR, or all of that which bring you serenity?

In this study, the authors investigated if expectations can affect ASMR – an important question indeed.

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Published research study focuses on misophonia and ASMR

August 22, 2018August 27, 2018 / Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

This is the second ASMR research study published by Dr Agnieszka Janik McErlean (Bath Spa University, UK) and Dr Michael Banissy (Goldsmiths, University of London, UK).

Their prior study was titled, “Assessing individual variation in personality and empathy traits in self-reported ASMR” and was published March 30, 2017 in the journal Multisensory Research.

Their latest study is titled, “Increased misophonia in self-reported ASMR” and was published August 6, 2018 in the journal PeerJ.

Misophonia is common in discussions about ASMR because some people greatly enjoy ASMR trigger sounds like whispering, mouth sounds, and chewing but others will respond to those same sounds with annoyance, anger, or anxiety (misophonia).

Curiously, some people who report experiencing ASMR to some triggers also report experiencing misophonia to other triggers. This hyper-sensitivity to sounds has people often wondering if people who experience ASMR are more likely to also experience misophonia.

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Science of ASMR: The first peer-reviewed research publication (podcast episode #10)

December 28, 2016March 20, 2017 / Dr. Richard / 5 Comments

In this podcast episode, I will be summarizing the data from the first peer-reviewed research publication about ASMR.

The paper is titled, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state”, is authored by Emma Barratt and Nick Davis, and was published March 26, 2015.

You will hear about the data from the paper related to these questions:

Why do people watch ASMR videos?
What are common ASMR triggers?
When do people first experience ASMR?
Do ASMR videos help people to feel less depressed?
Do ASMR videos lessen the symptoms of chronic pain?
And more.

Subscribe to the ASMR University Podcast to hear all of the past and future episodes or listen to this one episode right here:

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What would a body map of ASMR sensations look like?

January 29, 2016 / Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

Emma Barrett and Nick Davis actually proposed a body map of the ASMR sensation in their 2015 research paper.

They created the image of the body map from the data gathered in their survey. The image shows that the strongest ASMR sensations were in the head, spine, and shoulders – and got weaker with distance from the head.

Their image of the ASMR sensation is almost identical to body map images in a paper recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal titled, “Topography of social touching depends on emotional bonds between humans.”

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Part 4: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Interview with the authors

May 2, 2015June 29, 2017 / Dr. Richard / 6 Comments

This is Part 4, and the conclusion, of my blog post series on the first peer-reviewed paper about ASMR.

As a refresher, the paper is titled, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state”. It was published on March 26th, 2015 in the journal PeerJ.

This post is an interview with the authors of the paper, Emma Barratt and Nick Davis.

Dr. Nick Davis has his PhD in Psychology from the University of Birmingham (UK) and is currently working in the Department of Psychology at Swansea University (UK) as a Lecturer in Psychology.

Ms Emma Barratt is the lead author of the paper and has her MSc in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology from Swansea University (Wales).

The authors share their inspirations for beginning the research, challenges with writing the paper, and Ms. Barratt finds out a shocking fact about her co-author.

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Part 3: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Meaning of the data & next steps.

April 25, 2015June 29, 2017 / Dr. Richard / 7 Comments

This is Part 3 of my blog post series on the first peer-reviewed paper about ASMR.

As a refresher, the paper is titled, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state”. It was authored by Emma Barratt and Nick Davis and was published on March 26th, 2015 in the journal PeerJ.

This post is going to focus on the meaning of some of the data, as well as highlight how future studies could build on the helpful foundation provided by the authors of this paper.

This post is mostly for students and researchers looking for ASMR research ideas. Just look for the sections in this post marked “Next steps” for potential ASMR research projects you could do.

Let’s begin by reviewing and understanding the methods and the participants, this will help to keep the overall meaning of the data in an appropriate scope.

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Part 2: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Significance of the paper

April 14, 2015June 29, 2017 / Dr. Richard / 6 Comments

This is Part 2 of my blog post series on the first peer-reviewed paper about ASMR.

As a refresher, the paper is titled, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state”. It was authored by Emma Barratt and Nick Davis and was published on March 26th, 2015.

This post is going to focus on the significance of this first peer-reviewed research paper about ASMR.

Lets begin with asking: what does it mean when a paper is “peer-reviewed?”

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Part 1: The first peer-reviewed publication about ASMR: Summary of the data

April 4, 2015May 10, 2022 / Dr. Richard / 10 Comments

The first peer-reviewed paper about ASMR has been published in the journal PeerJ.

I am highly excited about this event and very proud of the authors of this paper.

The paper is titled, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state” and is authored by Emma Barratt and Nick Davis. The authors are members of the Department of Psychology at Swansea University in the United Kingdom.

The publication was officially published as a peer-reviewed publication on March 26, 2015, but was initially published as a “PrePrint” on December 18, 2014.

The study was reviewed and approved by the Swansea University Department of Psychology Ethics Committee prior to the initiation of data collection.

This is such an important achievement that I will cover this event in several blog posts. This first post will simply focus on summarizing the data in the publication.

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