Evaluating Emotional Responses of Two Human Test Subjects
Instructions
Play the same record for two people other than yourself, make notes about their responses (both observed and verbalized), analyze the results, and write up your findings. Please remember that at least one of your subjects must be a non-musician and you're also encouraged to have one of your subjects be in a different demographic group than you are (age, gender, ethnicity, urban vs. rural hometown, etc.). These conditions are important as they will increase the acuity of your observation skills by decreasing the likelihood of your having the exact same musical tastes.
Bring your volunteers into your listening environment one at a time to listen to one of the following examples. Sit where you can observe them and take notes without making them feel uncomfortable, possibly over to their side.
Be sure there are no distractions while you are playing the record for them and following up.
Give your volunteers the lists of emotional responses and ask them to look over these lists for a few moments.
Give your volunteers a notepad and pen or pencil to jot down any emotions they are feeling.
After they have had a chance to read over the lists, read the following to your volunteers:
As you listen to the following record
1. Relax.
2. When you identify an emotional response, jot it down.
3. If you are pulled out of the emotion of the record by a distraction, jot it down, then return to relaxing and listening.
4. Clear your mind. Take a few deep, cleansing breaths.
5. Once you are settled in and ready to listen, give me a nod and I’ll start the record.
Play the same record (of your choice) for your volunteer.
The list of songs:
1. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - PONPONPON
2. Charlie Puth - Boy
3. Jacob Collier - In my room
4. DefTones - Prayers/Triangles
Exercise
PART 1
Once the record is done, ask your volunteers the following questions and make notes about their responses:
What principal (macro) emotion do you feel in reaction to this record?
What secondary (micro) emotions do you feel in reaction to this record as the sections went by? ("How did the Introduction feel different than the verse and then the chorus?)
How do you think your musical tastes contributed and influenced to your emotional response to this record?
Once you have made notes on your human subjects' responses and have collected their own notes, you are finished with the subjects.
Your next task will be to write up the results of your experiments in observation.
PART 2
Your write-up will include the following information:
The song you selected.
Name, approximate age, occupation, and relationship to you (if any) of your test subjects.
Your subjects' stated and self-notated responses to the questions provided.
Your speculations as to how your subjects' preconceived opinions, tastes, and prejudices about music may or may not have contributed to their responses.
EVALUATING EMOTIONAL RESPONSES OF TWO HUMAN TEST SUBJECTS
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor
Date
Evaluating Emotional Responses of Two Human Test Subjects
Part 1
Question
Person 1
Person 2
What principal (macro) emotion do you feel in reaction to this record?
Happiness, Pleasure
Sadness, Love
What secondary (micro) emotions do you feel in reaction to this record as the sections went by? ("How did the Introduction feel different than the verse and then the chorus?)
Excitement
Yearning, Rebellion, Love, Pleasure
How do you think your musical tastes contributed and influenced to your emotional response to this record?
“I think it’s because I like kpop so much that I have an interest in upbeat tunes. The song was familiar to me because I listen to Charlie Puth too every now and then, and the lyrics were fun to listen to as well.”
“I personally like pop songs, especially by artists like Charlie Puth. But personally, my emotional response to the song was mainly from the lyrics (not because I am going through the same stuff) but because I feel like I could do more maturing on my end, so it kinda resonated within me too.”
Part 2
The track I chose for this part was “Boy” by Charlie Puth.
Person 1
The person I chose to be “Person 1” is a friend who is a female, non-musician, Filipino-American student aged 21 y.o. She is also a Korean pop fan. From her written notes, she wrote her primary emotions, namely, “happy,” “good song,” “satisfying to hear,” which, from our conversation, she agreed that the last two are equivalent to “pleasure.” From my own notes about her reactions while listening to the song, I noted that from the start of the song, it was apparent that she recognized it as she started moving her shoulders to the ...