October 20th, 2016: Research conducted by Dr. Franziska Apprich, Assistant Professor at Canadian University Dubai (CUD), has revealed how an extraordinary psychological phenomenon known as autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) can help students to alleviate the immense pressure and anxiety surrounding exams.
ASMR, frequently described as a ‘tingling sensation’, is often triggered by exposure to specific audio and video content, such as listening to a whispering voice, or to quiet, repetitive sounds. Dr. Apprich’s research proposes that using ASMR as a background soundtrack, while studying or writing exams, can calm down anxious students and can help them to optimize their academic potential and creativity.
The study, an extension of Dr. Apprich’s previous work in what is an under-investigated scientific field, has been selected for publication by the prestigious International Organization of Scientific Research, which collaborates with high profile entities such as NASA. The paper aims to showcase to the wider scientific and teaching communities the impact that ASMR can have in modern society and in education in particular.
Dr. Apprich explained, “Nowadays the constant flow of information and obsessive interaction with technical devices has created a social media generation who are easily distracted, with low attention span, sleeping and eating disorders, anxiety and depression.
“For this reason, it is important that educators, researchers, parents and youngsters become aware of the nature of ASMR and its unique benefits. The key to any creativity, academic writing or innovation is to concentrate and focus, to let your imagination take you to places that you yourself are surprised by and to be allowed enough space and time to flourish.”
Dr. Apprich’s previous research, conducted in collaboration with a Dubai-based centre of neurology, found that ASMR exposure led to people with great anxiety calming down with the simple sound of chewing gum; a phenomenon that was actually new to the neurologist and nursing teams, and one that she hopes to apply in an educational context.
She continued, “My data collection at the neurologist centre proved that ASMR sounds make you experience a state of calm while being fully conscious. This is the best given starting point for any creative or critical thinking exercise. The introduction of ASMR as a respected and scientifically proven outlet against exam stress could be just the cure that education needs.”
Continuing with her research into innovation in education, Dr. Apprich is going on to explore what she describes as ‘the education of the heart’. In this study, she will be considering how education is not only about the gathering and memorization of facts, but also about making sure that students become ‘adults with a heart’ who support each other, and are kind, as well as innovative.
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