Week 3: Surveys and Preliminary Steps to Testing

This past week, I have completed several key components that are essential in order to commence the experimental phase. First and foremost, all 5 of the auditory playlists have now been completed. Each playlist was carefully refined to make sure that they align with their intended purpose, whether it be for relaxation, to affect an emotional state, or to promote mindfulness and presence. I have made the final adjustments to each of the playlists to make sure that they are cohesive, rather than random.

Along with completing the playlists, I have developed a clearly defined sample pool for the study. In order to create sample diversity based on varying ages, I intend to use a sample of volunteer participants who are about 16 to 60 years old. This way,  the study can assess the broadest spectrum of responses to auditory stimulus in relation to age/stages of development throughout their respective lifespan. Several factors such as stress perception, emotional regulation and music preferences will likely vary based on age, therefore recruiting participants from different age categories will enhance the study by creating more representative and accurate findings of what would occur within the general population.

A significant achievement this week was completing the pre- and post-assessment survey instruments necessary for assessing the effects of auditory stimulation. The purpose of these surveys is to measure participants’ feelings of stress, levels of emotion, and mental state both pre- and post-exposure to the music, enabling direct comparison to identify any potential changes in these areas. To achieve a high level of reliability, I used the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) as a benchmark for developing the pre- and post-assessment instruments. Since the STAI is a well-established research and assessment tool for measuring levels of anxiety, it provides a sense of reliability and validity to my instrument development process. Additionally, I included questions developed from my observations for the purpose of better measuring participants’ emotional responses immediately following their exposure to the auditory stimulation, such as changes in relaxation, mood, and concentration. I also attempted to make all questions as simple and clear as possible for the purpose of encouraging accurate, conscientious responses. The pre-assessment and post-assessment are focused on parallel development to facilitate consistent data collection processes and facilitate easy comparison. All pre- and post-assessment will have the same format and all data collected from all participants will be collected via the same form to ensure consistency.

The playlists have been finalized, participants have been selected, and assessment tools have been developed, so the project is now progressing from the planning phase to full data collection readiness. The next phase will involve conducting the experiment, gathering responses, and beginning to analyze how different forms of auditory stimulation influence stress and emotional well-being.