Week 8: Establishing a Baseline

This week, I shifted my focus toward establishing a more controlled baseline for my experiment by introducing trials with no auditory stimulation. Up until this point, my data has been centered around how participants respond to different types of music, but in order to fully validate those findings, it is necessary to determine if any physiological change occurs in the absence of auditory stimuli.

I conducted a new set of trials in which participants underwent the exact same procedure, including pre-assessment surveys, continuous heart rate monitoring, breathing rate tracking, and post-assessment surveys, but with no auditory stimuli. Maintaining identical conditions across both sets of trials was critical in ensuring that any differences observed were attributed specifically to the presence or absence of auditory stimuli, rather than external variables.

One of the primary goals of these control trials was to establish whether the reductions in stress indicators seen in previous weeks were truly influenced by music, or if they could simply be the result of participants sitting in a calm, low-stimulation environment. By comparing these datasets, I aim to determine whether rhythmic synchronization and associated stress reduction responses are unique to music exposure. 

Preliminary observations already suggest some notable differences. While participants in the no-audio condition often exhibited slight decreases in heart rate over time, these changes were generally less consistent and lacked the patterned synchronization that was previously observed during music exposure. Breathing rates also appeared more irregular, and there was less evidence of the gradual alignment seen in earlier trials. Additionally, self-reported measures of calmness did not show the same level of increase as those in the auditory trials.

As I continue analyzing this control data, I will be directly comparing it to the results from my music-based trials to quantify the magnitude of these differences. This comparison will be essential in determining whether stimuli actively drive physiological changes or if they simply enhance effects that would occur naturally over time.  By clearly distinguishing between responses with and without auditory stimulation, I can more confidently draw conclusions about the role music plays in influencing stress and physiological regulation.