From touch to tingles: Assessing ASMR triggers and their consistency over time with the ASMR Trigger Checklist (ATC)

Giulia L. Poerio a,*

, Angelica Succi b

, Tom Swart c

, Vincenzo Romei d

,

Helge Gillmeister e

Overview of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)

• Definition: ASMR is a complex sensory-perceptual phenomenon characterized by relaxing and pleasurable scalp tingling sensations. These sensations typically originate at the head or scalp and can spread throughout the body.

• History and Terminology: The term was coined in $2010$. The first empirical study documenting ASMR was published in $2015$ by Barratt and Davis.

• Prevalence: Recent tentative estimates suggest that approximately $20\%$ (or $1$ in $5$ people) experience ASMR.

• Core Defining Features:

  • Sensory/Location: Head/scalp tingling sensations.

  • Affective: A relaxing and pleasurable experience, distinct from other aesthetic emotions like music-induced frisson.

  • Elicitation: Induction by a specific set of external stimuli or "triggers."

• Contextual Sensitivity: ASMR depends on the features of triggers (gentle, repetitive, non-threatening) and the social situation (interpersonal interactions involving a kind or caring person).

The ASMR Trigger Checklist (ATC): Purpose and Development

• Rationale: While existing tools like the ASMR Experience Questionnaire (AEQ) and ASMR-15 measure sensations and personality traits, the specific triggers and their consistency over time are rarely measured explicitly.

• Addressing the Audio-Visual Bias: The authors argue that current research over-emphasizes audio-visual triggers due to the popularity of YouTube content. This underestimates interpersonal and tactile triggers that often characterize early, naturalistic ASMR experiences (e.g., hair brushing, lice checks, medical appointments).

• ATC Objectives:

  • Assist in ASMR-responder identification.

  • Capture individual differences in trigger number (count) and intensity.

  • Emphesize tactile and interpersonal stimultion alongside auditory and visual domains.

• Study 1: Formatting and Refinement:

  • Initial Sample: $N = 90$ self-reported ASMR responders used to test a $31$-item list.

  • Refinement: The final ATC was expanded to $37$ triggers based on participant feedback, including $8$ new triggers and $20$ additional examples.

  • Instructions: Revised to specify that only positive emotional reactions should be rated, acknowledging that some triggers (e.g., eating sounds) can cause negative reactions in individuals with misophonia.

Detailed Taxonomy of ASMR Triggers in the ATC

1. Vocal Auditory Triggers

• Whispering: Specifically soft, breathy vocalization.

• Soft-speaking: Calm, rhythmic speaking with pauses and soft counting.

• Inaudible/Unintelligible Speaking: Murmured or muffled words.

• Breathing: Delicate inhaling and exhaling.

• Mouth Sounds: Lip-smacking, humming, or teeth noises.

• Eating Sounds: Chewing or swallowing.

• Accents: Specifically foreign or rhythmic accents.

• Timbre/Pitch: High or low qualities, including female and children's voices.

• Letter Sounds: Emphasis on specific consonants like $R$, $S$, $K$, or $T$.

• Reading: For example, listening to someone read books or journals.

2. Non-Vocal Auditory Triggers

• Tapping: Nails on hard surfaces, objects, or keyboard typing.

• Crisp/Crunchy/Crinkling: Metallic foil, crinkly clothing, or paper sounds.

• Scratching: Including the sound of writing with a fountain pen.

• Brushing Sounds: General repetitive brushing noises.

• Page Turning: Specifically the sound of flipping through paper.

• Sticky Fingers: Squelching or tacky sounds.

• Rubbing: Surfaces moving against one another.

• Buzzing/Vibrations: Humming or low-frequency mechanical sounds.

• Blowing/White Noise: Hair dryers, vacuums, or steady air movement.

• Liquid Sounds: Water, lotion, foam, or spray bottles.

• Solid Sounds: Wood on wood, glass on glass, or metal scissors cutting.

• Nature Sounds: Rain, flowing rivers, wind, fire crackling, or rustling leaves.

3. Visual Triggers

• Repetitive Actions: Folding towels or coloring.

• Delicate Hand Movements: Hand strokes and tracing of objects.

• Light Flashed Near Face: Medical-style simulations.

• Oddly Satisfying Triggers: Soap cutting, kinetic sand, or moving liquids.

• Watching Concentration: Observing someone cook or apply make-up.

• Watching Expertise: Observing someone perform a task with skill, such as calligraphy, painting, or sculpture.

• Watching Touch: Seeing someone else receive a massage or hair brushing.

4. Tactile and Interpersonal Triggers

• Close Personal Attention: Service encounters (hotel check-in), appointments (hairdressers), or being measured.

• Close-up Movements: Specific actions directed toward the viewer.

• Care-giving: Being looked after when unwell or receiving positive affirmations.

• Light Touch on Face: Make-up application simulations.

• Physical Touch on Body: Hair play, massage, or someone accidentally brushing against the person.

• Blowing: Air directed into the ear or hair.

• Eye Contact: Someone looking very closely at an aspect of the person.

• Altruistic Acts: Kind words, lending things, or apologies.

Study 2: Results on Endorsement and Intensity

• Sample: $N = 295$ at Time 1 ($T1$); $N = 145$ at Time 2 ($T2$).

• Most Endorsed Trigger: Physical touch on the body was endorsed by $98\%$ of the sample.

• Highest Intensity Trigger: Physical touch on the body ($M = 5.03$ on a scale of $0-6$).

• Prototypical Triggers ($75\%+$ Endorsement): $24$ of the $37$ triggers were endorsed by the majority, including soft-speaking ($94\%$), brushing sounds ($93\%$), and whispering ($92\%$).

• Least Commonly Endorsed Triggers:

  • Having a light flashed in the face ($45\%$).

  • Eating sounds ($46\%$).

  • Blowing ($55\%$).

• Consistency Over Time: Re-administration after $5.62$ months showed that $84\%$ of trigger endorsements remained the same.

  • Correlation for ATC trigger count: $r_s(145) = 0.72$, p < .001.

  • Correlation for ATC trigger intensity: $r_s(145) = 0.71$, p < .001.

Validation and Convergent Validity

Comparison with Existing Measures

• ASMR-15: ATC Intensity was significantly positively correlated with the ASMR-15 total score ($r(145) = 0.42$, p < .001) and all four subscales (Altered Consciousness, Sensation, Relaxation, and Affect).

• Flow to ASMR: ATC Intensity correlated with the Short Flow State Scale ($r(145) = 0.36$, p < .001).

• AEQ Comparison: Participants classified as "Strong ASMR Responders" by the AEQ showed significantly higher ATC intensity scores compared to non-responders ($M_{diff} = 0.61$, $p = .003$).

Associations with Individual Differences

• Openness to Experience: Positively correlated with ATC Intensity ($r = 0.21$, $p = .016$).

• Trait Absorption: Positively correlated with Count ($r = 0.24$) and Intensity ($r = 0.34$, p < .001).

• Aesthetic Experiences: Positively correlated with Count ($r = 0.31$) and Intensity ($r = 0.37$, p < .001).

• Mindfulness (FFMQ): Only the "Observing" facet was significantly associated with ATC Intensity ($r = 0.31$, p < .001).

• Social Desirability: No significant correlation was found with ATC scores (p > .05), suggesting respondents were not merely answering to please the researchers.

Discussion and Practical Applications

• The Primacy of Touch: The authors suggest that experiencing strong ASMR sensations from physical touch may be a necessary condition for trait ASMR. This supports the theory that ASMR is a cross-modal correspondence to high-hedonic, social touch.

• Real-Life vs. Online: Digital ASMR content is viewed as a "simulation" of real-world interpersonal scenarios. The ATC helps recapture the naturalistic origins of the phenomenon.

• Research Utility:

  • Participant Selection: Researchers can use the ATC to identify genuine responders by checking for the endorsement of touch and a minimum number of prototypical triggers (e.g., at least $20$ out of $37$).

  • Intensity Measurement: ATC intensity provides a comprehensive indicator of the strength of a person's ASMR response capacity.

• Future Directions: Investigating "ASMR immunity" (habituation) or the extinction of triggers over time and exploring whether ASMR exists on a continuum or as a distinct category.