The impact of ASMR on academic attainment in undergraduate students

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a neurological response to certain stimuli or triggers, involving feelings of relaxation, well-being and/or a tingling sensation in the scalp and neck. Research into ASMR is limited, with most studies focusing on the changes in affect linked to engaging with ASMR, such as a reduction in anxiety and depression. Similar relaxing experiences like meditation and listening to classical music have been found to improve academic performance, but there is currently no understanding of this potential effect from ASMR. The present study examined the impact of engaging with ASMR on academic test performance. Through a between-groups design, 30 undergraduate students from King’s College London either watched 15 minutes of ASMR videos prior to taking a test consisting of questions from the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), or took the test without watching any videos (control). Findings indicate that ASMR does not have a significant impact on overall academic attainment, but ASMR use does significantly increase scores on the verbal section of the test. These results suggest that ASMR could be utilised to improve verbal, but not numerical, academic performance. Further research is required to fully understand the relationship between ASMR and academic performance, and the possible use of ASMR in educational settings.