Research on perceptual impression control based on acoustic modification of ASMR sounds

This study investigated the acoustic characteristics of ASMR sounds, believed to induce Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and examined how modifying these sounds affects perceptual impressions, like the tingling sensation, through subjective evaluations and acoustic analyses. Sounds like the crunching of crackers, the tearing of newspaper, and the ringing of a crepe bell were recorded using a dummy head microphone. To test whether the ASMR effect persists under quasi-stationary noise conditions, which are characterized by small temporal variations in the sound pressure level (SPL) and the interaural time differences, a process of superimposing high SPL segments of ASMR sounds onto low SPL segments was applied. Subjective evaluation results showed that the tingling sensation was enhanced with increased superimpositions in the case of crunching sound, which inherently has large SPL variation. The overlapping crisp crunching sounds with slightly varying onset times were perceived as irregular and unpredictable, contributing to the ASMR effect. Conversely, the tingling sensation was reduced in the case of bell sound, which has smaller inherent SPL variation, because superimposition flattened the temporal structure, making it more predictable. Acoustic analysis suggested that abrupt temporal transitions in the interaural time differences of the tearing sound may contribute to ASMR perception.