ASMR and Biophilia

Mahady, Takac, and De Foe report that “Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a nascent phenomenon wherein a pleasant and relaxing tingling sensation occurs in response to audio and visual triggers like whispering and close personal attention. Biophilia is the concept that humans are innately drawn to nature. Previous research has found both phenomena elicit similar physiological and emotional responses, such as decreased blood flow, pupil dilation, and positive mood recovery. . . . participants watched a video of ASMR and nature sounds. . . . [analyses] showed ASMR to be more sensorially stimulating and engaging, while biophilic stimuli were more relaxing, requiring less voluntary attention. Those who preferred ASMR tended to find biophilia less purposeful, while those who preferred biophilia found ASMR exceedingly intense. Findings support the hypothesis that ASMR is akin to a flow state. ASMR susceptibility varied, while connectedness to nature was consistently high, suggesting biophilic stimuli were universally appreciated.”

Aidan Mahady, Marcel Takac, and Alexander De Foe. “Differences Between Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) and Biophilia:  A Pilot Study.”  Psychology of Consciousness:  Theory, Research, and Practice, in press, https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000357