Week 4: Starting Initial Testing

I have officially transitioned my project from preparation to active experimentation this last week!  After I prepared my playlists and determined my participants, I was able to order the measuring devices that will allow me to collect objective data to compare to data from the surveys for analysis. Specifically, the measuring devices are a heart rate monitor and cortisol measurements. Both of these measuring devices are reliable physiological indicators of stress. My study will provide more information about both the physical and psychological effects of auditory stimulus due to now having both biological and survey measurements to analyze the same participants.

I successfully set up all materials this week and established a clear and consistent protocol for collecting samples, ensuring the times they are collected are relatively the same (before and after listening) to maintain reliability. I also standardized how heart rate is recorded throughout the session. Taking these steps were important to minimize external variability and ensure that the data collected is as accurate and comparable as possible across participants.

After being prepared, I started experimenting by collecting data from the first five participants (ages 17 to 18). This involved completing each stage of the experiment, including administering the survey prior to playlist exposure to establish a baseline, followed by heart rate tracking during the session and cortisol sampling after the experiment to measure post-assessment changes. Despite these being early samples, there are already some trends emerging from these samples.

For example, Participant 1 showed a clear decrease in both subjective and physiological stress after listening to the calming playlist, with heart rate dropping from 85 bpm to 75 bpm and cortisol levels showing a slight decrease. Participant 2 responded most strongly to the mindfulness playlist, reporting increased focus and reduced anxiety, along with a heart rate decrease from 80 bpm to 72 bpm and a moderate reduction in cortisol. Participant 3 showed minimal change in survey responses but still exhibited a small drop in heart rate and a slight decrease in cortisol, suggesting a more subtle physiological response. Finally, Participant 4 experienced a noticeable improvement in mood with the expressive playlist, though their cortisol levels remained relatively stable despite a small decrease in heart rate.

While these findings are preliminary, they suggest that auditory stimuli may influence both perceived stress and underlying biological responses within a relatively similar age group. However, in order to make stronger conclusions, the whole sample group involving different age ranges must be tested. Moving forward, I plan to continue expanding the sample size and refining data collection to better identify patterns and draw more reliable conclusions about the relationship between sound, stress, and emotional well-being.