Anderson, Marissa 2020 Psychology Thesis
Title: The Song Exploder Effect: When Learning Leads to Love: Advisor: Kenneth Savitsky Advisor is Co-author/Adviser Restricted Data Used: None of the above Second Advisor: Release: release now Authenticated User Access (does not apply to released theses): Contains Copyrighted Material: No
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT: WHEN LEARNING LEADS TO LOVE
By
MARISSA ANDERSON
Kenneth Savitsky, Advisor
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts
with Honors in Psychology
WILLIAMS COLLEGE
Williamstown, Massachusetts
May 28, 2020
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 1 Abstract
There is variability in people’s views about how learning information about an aesthetic experience will affect liking. Does insider information enhance an aesthetic experience listening to a song, or does it spoil everything? I examine this issue in four studies. In Studies 1 and 2, I explore individuals’ intuitions about whether insider-information enhances or diminishes their aesthetic experience. In Studies 3 and 4, I put the question to experimental test by manipulating whether or not participants listen to an episode of Song Exploder and then assessing their liking for the song (as well as their intuitions about how the podcast has affected their enjoyment). I found that people’s intuitions lead them to believe that they would prefer not to learn behind-the-scenes information about a song in order to maximize their enjoyment. In reality, the lab studies suggest that listening to an episode of Song Exploder increased enjoyment of listening to the song. The mechanism behind this “Song Exploder effect” was found to be a feeling of social connection that the listener felt with the artist.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 2 Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Kenneth Savitsky. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to take multiple courses with you in my time at Williams.
Through working as a research assistant in your lab I learned an incredible amount about research in the field of psychology and learned how rewarding it is to commit yourself to a project such as a thesis. Thank you for sparking my interest in social psychology and for your constant support, guidance, and excitement that made my project a success.
Thank you to Professor Jeremy Cone for being my second reader. Your genuine interest in my project was clear and I really appreciate you taking the time to check in throughout the semester and help with many decisions along the way.
Thank you to all the professors in the Psychology department at Williams who helped me to recruit participants for my studies. By offering extra credit in your classes and sharing your class rosters I was able to reach my sample size goals.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family, friends, and teammates. I could not have completed this project without your support and encouragement. I really appreciate your willingness to listen to any song or podcast that I needed advice with and your participation and help with distributing my many surveys. Thank you for sticking with me through it all.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 3
Imagine that before you watch a movie, you have an opportunity to learn behind-the-scenes information about it—how the script was written and rewritten by a team of screenwriters, how scenes were lit and cameras were placed, how the special effects were created, and even how it ends. Or imagine that before you hear a new song, you have an opportunity to learn all about it—how the songwriter came up with the idea and wrote the music, how each musician was recorded in the studio, and how a recording engineer mixed the different parts into a finished song. Would you want to know this information and how would knowing it affect your enjoyment of the film or song? Does insider information enhance an aesthetic experience, or does it spoil everything? These are the questions I address in my research.
Whether to seek or avoid information is a question many people wrestle with in their everyday lives (Sweeny, Melnyk, Miller, & Shepperd, 2010). Knowing information can aid in decision making, improve the accuracy of predictions, relieve troubling uncertainty, and help individuals in many ways (Dawson, Savitsky, & Dunning, 2006; Dunning, 1995). Indeed, as Sir
Francis Bacon observed, “knowledge is power.” And yet, many people seem to agree that
“ignorance is bliss,” as Thomas Gray wrote in his poem “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton
College.” Especially when it comes to how it may affect their aesthetic experience, many people opt to avoid information, believing that knowing too much can decrease enjoyment because it takes away from the sweet mysteries of life.
Consistent with this view, people sometimes go to great lengths to avoid learning too much about the things they enjoy prior to experiencing them—for example, avoiding information about the ending of a favorite movie or TV series by avoiding online discussions or social
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 4 situations that might cause them to learn “spoilers” (Johnson & Rosenbaum, 2018). Knowing the ending or too many behind-the-scenes details would prevent them from having a pure, unadulterated experience, and, they fear, would thus rob them of the full aesthetic experience. In the opening lines of a movie review on NPR about Parasite Justin Chang explained, “I was fortunate enough to go into Parasite knowing almost nothing about it. Bong Joon-ho's brilliant new movie packs the kinds of stunning, multi-layered surprises that deserve to be experienced as fresh as possible. I'll tread as cautiously as I can…” Presumably, he believes the movie wouldn’t have been as “stunning” if he hadn’t experienced it from this “fresh” perspective. Not only do people protect their aesthetic experience by delaying the acquisition of information, some have argued that it is best to avoid information altogether about some of life’s pleasures. For example, arguing against funding for research on the psychology of love and interpersonal attraction, the late Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire, as quoted by Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, and Nisbett
(2016), quipped, “If scientists could understand, weigh, measure, and calculate love, there’d be a lot less of it going on.” In short, information is thought by some to “ruin everything” and lead to less enjoyment.
On the other hand, some have adopted the opposite viewpoint: that behind-the-scenes information does not spoil enjoyment, and that the more we know about something the more we may appreciate it and therefore the more we may like it. As Gilovich et al. (2016) wrote,
“Knowing that a rainbow is the result of light refracted through droplets of water does not render it less beautiful. Knowing that all living things have been sculpted by evolution does not diminish the wonder of existence. If anything, a deeper understanding typically results in a richer, not a diminished, experience” (p. 88-89). Similarly, after describing sunsets in a stark,
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 5 cold, unsentimental, scientific manner, the writer John Green added, “I think it’s helpful to know how sunsets work, and I’ve never bought the romantic notion that scientific understanding somehow robs the universe of its beauty.” Consistent to this sentiment, in a study that examined how physical context and knowledge of artworks influenced aesthetic experience, it was found that curatorial information increased understanding and appreciation of the artworks, while just knowing the title of the artwork did not (Szubielska, Imbir & Szymanska, 2019). The curatorial information helped viewers understand the presentation of the art pieces while the title merely gave them some information about the art piece, but not enough information to yield a nuanced understanding. Moreover, research suggests that reading a short paragraph that includes blatant story spoilers before reading a story actually enhances the experience of reading a story because knowing the ending allows viewers to appreciate the aesthetic elements of the story instead of devoting all of their attention to the plot (Leavitt & Christenfeld, 2013). Thus, knowing that
Daenerys Targaryen dies in the final episode of “Game of Thrones” may make the episode even more enjoyable to watch! (This research showed that spoilers about the ending of the story increased liking primarily when the story was complicated. If the story was too simple, and thus had a ceiling effect for fluency, the spoiler did not increase liking because fluency could not be increased; Leavitt et al., 2013.)
So which is it? Should one avoid knowing too much about the psychology of love, avoid information about new songs, and look away from all media coverage of new films, or should one seek out such information? Does insider, behind-the-scenes information ruin or enhance aesthetic enjoyment?
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 6 Information avoidance has been defined as acting with the intention to prevent or delay the acquisition of available but unwanted information (Sweeny et al., 2010). Research has shown that people avoid information for many reasons. For example, people may avoid information simply to circumvent unpleasant emotions. Staying off of the bathroom scale is one way to avoid regret over having gained weight, and steering clear of news stories about global warming is one way to avoid worry and distress over threats to the natural environment. Information avoidance like this is often comforting to people. For example, many people are reluctant to get genetic screening for medical conditions that do not have any preventative treatments or cures, such as Huntington’s disease (Case, Andrews, Johnson, & Allard, 2005; Dawson et al., 2006).
Discovering if one has the gene for Huntington’s disease will only cause one to feel unpleasant emotions, as there is no action that can be taken to treat the disease effectively. Avoiding information can thus avoid heartache. People also avoid information when they worry that it might force them to give up or adjust a cherished belief. For example, people tend to seek out media reports that support their preexisting opinions about politics and avoid those that oppose their existing views (Golman, Hagmann, & Loewenstein, 2017). By avoiding information that might corrupt their view of a political figure or cause they support, they are not obligated to change their belief. Information avoidance like this can help an individual preserve his or her world view and reaffirm self-integrity. A final explanation for information avoidance behavior is that people worry that information, if acquired, might compel them to perform some undesired action. For example, people are more likely to avoid information about a medical risk when the feedback would obligate them to engage in highly undesirable behavior compared to only slightly undesirable behavior (Howell & Shepperd, 2013). In a study of Nigerian women with
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 7 breast cancer it was found that most delayed seeking treatment because of a fear of a mastectomy
(Ajekigbe, 1991). Although learning about their medical condition sooner could have granted them a better prognosis, their fear of undesirable treatment lead them to avoid information about their health status.
There are thus many reasons for people to say “Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.” In my thesis research, I studied an additional source of information avoidance: people’s belief that learning about something may disrupt their aesthetic enjoyment of it—that knowing “behind the scenes” information about a book, movie, song, etc. may “spoil everything,” ruin their experience, and cause them to like those things less.
One domain in which researchers have investigated the question of how acquiring information influences liking is in interpersonal attraction, although different researchers have argued for different views. Some data suggest that learning more information about another individual—i.e., getting beyond initial smalltalk and learning more about what someone is really like—will lead to less liking. According to this research, once dissimilarity is (inevitably) encountered, subsequent information is likely to be interpreted as more evidence of dissimilarity, and this dissimilaity will lead to decreased liking (Norton, Frost & Ariely, 2007). Other researchers have argued for the opposite perspective: that learning more about another individual leads to greater liking (LaPrelle, Hoyle, Insko, Bernthal, 1990). According to this view, learning more information about someone that fits into the framework of self-similarity and ideal similarity increases liking of that person (LaPrelle et al., 1990). In the end, the two camps of researchers agreed on a theoretical model that could accommodate and reconcile both views under different circumstances (Notron, Frost, & Ariely, 2011). Specifically, whether or not
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 8 information increases or decreases liking depends on a number of factors, such as interaction goals and the medium in which people acquire information (Norton et al., 2011).
In my thesis, I add to past research on how acquiring information affects interpersonal attraction by exploring how acquiring information affects individuals’ aesthetic experiences.
Does learning how a special effect was created in a movie spoil the magic of the cinematic experience? Does knowing that an author’s sister was her inspiration for a character ruin the entire novel? My research was inspired by a podcast series called “Song Exploder.” In each episode of the podcast, a musician focuses on a song that he or she has created and takes it apart
(“explodes” it) piece by piece. The musician may talk about his or her inspiration behind the song, how the song was written, how the recording process transpired, and so on, all in a roughly
15-minute interview, after which the song is played in its entirety. For example, in one episode, singer-songwriter Neko Case, talks at length about the process of recording a specific guitar riff for her song “Last Lion of Albion.” In the studio, the riff did not sound quite right, so she went to a particular breakfast nook to record it because of the way the wood surrounding affected the sound. This is the sort of insider, behind-the-scenes detail that a casual listener would never know but that Song Exploder is full of.
My experience of Song Exploder is that listening to these podcast episodes and hearing behind-the-scenes stories does not ruin the songs; if anything, it seems to increase my liking of the songs. After each episode, I listen to the song with a knowledge of insider information, hearing it with an understanding of the detail and effort required to create the music, and appreciating the song more (I think) than I would have if I had heard the song “cold.” I refer to this effect as the “Song Exploder effect.” My research was based off of this experience with the
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 9 following goals (a) to gauge people’s intuitions about how information will affect their aesthetic experience, (b) to determine if the Song Exploder effect exists (i.e., whether information “ruins everything,” as some maintain, or enhances one’s enjoyment, as I found), (c) to explore a possible individual difference in the Song Exploder effect, and, lastly, (d) if learning does lead to liking, to explore some mechanisms that may give rise to the Song Exploder effect.
What are some possible mechanisms behind the Song Exploder effect? There are several possibilities. First, perhaps hearing the song (albeit in bits and pieces) repeatedly during a Song
Exploder episode increases people’s liking for it via a simple repetition-leads-to-liking effect. In
1968, Robert Zajonc proposed that the mere repeated exposure to a stimulus enhances a person’s attitude toward it (Zajonc, 1968). For example, in a study that tested the effects of mere exposure on liking for edible substances, participants tasted a previously unfamiliar fruit juice 0, 5, 10, or
20 times and found that the more frequently the juice had been tasted, the more it was liked
(Pliner, 1982). In a study investigating the effects of repeated exposure on processing fluency, recognition performance, and liking ratings for unfamiliar tonal and non-tonal tunes, if was found that liking ratings increased with repeated exposure of both types of tunes (Mungan,
Akam, & Bilge, 2019). These studies and many others suggest that being exposed repeatedly to a stimulus, like a song, would be enough to increase liking. If so, the Song Exploder effect may actually have little to nothing to do with the acquisition of information, as I have suggested.
Therefore, the mere exposure effect is something that I will test as a possible explanation of or mediator of the Song Exploder effect.
Second, perhaps listening to the Song Exploder podcast enhances song liking because it alerts people to all of the effort that goes into the making of a song, something they may not have
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 10 fully considered or appreciated previously. Norton, Mochon, and Ariely (2012) found that labor leads to love—that is, that individuals have an increased fondness for items that they themselves had to exert effort to create. Participants who assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, or built sets of Legos saw their creations as being of greater value than others did, and expected others to share their opinions. When participants put in work to create something, they valued it more, a tendency the researchers dubbed the “IKEA effect” (Norton et al., 2011). Perhaps the same can be true when another person has done the work—an “IKEA effect by proxy.” In fact, there is some support for this possibility. In one study, participants rated a poem, a painting, or a suit of armor. The same stimulus was shown to each participant, but the amount of time and effort the participant thought it took to produce the item was manipulated. For example, a poem was either said to have taken 4 hours or 18 hours to write. The more effort and time the participant thought each item took to produce, the higher the ratings were for quality, value, and liking (Kruger,
Wirtz, Boven & Altermatt, 2003). This mechanism may help to explain the Song Exploder effect given that many episodes of Song Exploder discuss how labor-intensive song-writing and recording can be. The awareness of this effort could result in an increase in liking of the song.
Third, perhaps podcast listeners feel an increased social connection between themselves and the song or the artist, and this leads to increased liking. In a recent study, Mastandrea,
Wagoner & Hogg (2019) explored liking for abstract and representational art. They found that
Americans tended to like artwork more if they thought that the artist was another American
(someone with whom they may have felt a kinship and connection), as opposed to thinking the artist was Italian. The preference for abstract art created by an ingroup member was more likely to occur when the viewer lacked art-related expertise and experience (Mastandrea et al., 2019).
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 11 After listening to an episode of Song Exploder, the listener may feel a sense of personal closeness or connection with the artist (albeit, a one-sided connection), which in turn may be the cause of the listener’s feeling of increased liking for the artist’s music.
The final mechanism for the Song Exploder effect being considered is that an advanced appreciation and nuanced understanding of the songs is what causes an increase in liking.
Listening to the artist speak about the process and inspiration behind recording a song may cause the listener to view the song in an entirely new light. The song may be understood in a more complex way than it was previous to learning the information—and, as Gilovich and colleagues
(2016) speculated in the earlier quotation, “a deeper understanding typically results in a richer, not a diminished, experience.” This is the mechanism that I predict will be the cause of the Song
Exploder effect. In the study that examined how physical context and knowledge of artworks influenced aesthetic experience, mentioned earlier, it was found that curatorial information increased understanding and appreciation of the works, while just knowing the title of the works did not (Szubielska et al., 2019). This finding is in keeping with the advanced appreciation hypothesis in that understanding appeared to be a necessary component of enhanced liking.
A corollary to this “nuanced understanding” hypothesis is that individuals who are especially receptive to deep, nuanced thinking may show the Song Exploder effect more than those who are not. To test this idea, I included a measure of dispositional need for cognition
(NFC) in my studies. NFC is a measurement of a person’s behavioral tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982). NFC tends to be a stable personality trait. Generally people with a higher NFC tend to use information to make sense of stimuli and events in their world while people with a lower NFC tend to use cognitive heuristics and rely on
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 12 others to make sense of the world (Cacioppo, Petty, Feinstein, & Jarvis, 1996). I used a shortened version of the NFC scale that included 6 questions rather than the original 34-item version or the shortened 18-item version. The NFC-6 saves significant time and is found not to lower construct validity (Coehlo, Hanel, Wolf, 2018). I predict that individuals higher in NFC will increase their liking for the song after listening to the Song Exploder episode more than those with lower NFC. This difference in aesthetic enjoyment of the song will occur because of the high NFC group’s tendency to enjoy effortful activity such as using the information from
Song Exploder to interpret the song.
I examine these issues in four studies. In Studies 1 and 2, I explore individuals’ intuitions about whether insider-information enhances or diminishes their aesthetic experience. In Studies
3 and 4, I put the question to experimental test by manipulating whether or not participants listen to an episode of Song Exploder and then assessing their liking for the song (as well as their intuitions about how the podcast has affected their enjoyment). In addition, in Study 4, I evaluate the possible mechanisms discussed above.
Study 1: Intuitions Pretest 1
Method
Participants
The sample consisted of 100 participants, all of whom were recruited online via
Amazon Mechanical Turk and were each paid $0.50. The participants ranged in age from 19-71
(M = 37.59). Of the 100 participants, 37 were female and 63 were male.
Procedure
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 13 I created a questionnaire to measure participants’ intuitions about how learning information about an aesthetic object (i.e., something they might experience and appreciate) would influence their level of enjoyment. Participants were asked to imagine that before they experienced a movie, meal, song, magic trick, and painting (presented in a random order for each participant), that they had learned some behind-the-scenes information about it. For example, for the movie condition participants were asked, “ Imagine that before you watch a movie, you learn a lot of behind-the-scenes information about the movie and how it was made. You learn how the script was written and then re-written by a team of screenwriters. You learn how different actors were cast in their roles. And you learn details about the filming process: how different scenes were lit, how the cameras were placed, how various filming locations were chosen, and how the special effects were created. After learning all of this information, you watch the movie.” For each one, they indicated how they thought this information would affect their enjoyment on a
5-point likert scale that ranged from “Would decrease my enjoyment a lot” to “Would increase my enjoyment a lot.” On similar 5-point scales, participants also indicated how much they knew about each one, from “I know nothing about this” to “I am an expert in this,” and how much they typically enjoy each one, from “I don’t enjoy this at all” to “I love this.” Participants then completed an six-item scale measuring dispositional need for cognition (Coelho, Hanel & Wolf,
201) and two exploratory items measuring a general desire to seek vs. avoid information, and reported their age and gender.
Results and Discussion
Overall, participants reported that behind-the-scenes knowledge would significantly increase their enjoyment (M > scale midpoint of 3) in all domains except magic, in which they
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 14 said that behind-the-scenes knowledge would significantly decrease their enjoyment (M < midpoint of 3). See Table 1 for means and standard deviation for each domain. Table 1 also shows how the degree to which participants said that behind-the-scenes knowledge would increase their enjoyment correlated with domain knowledge, domain enjoyment, the six-item
NFC scale (α = .909). Although there was some variance in the degree of statistical significance across different aesthetic objects, domain knowledge and domain enjoyment both tended to correlate positively with a tendency to believe that more information would lead to more enjoyment. For example, although there was a general tendency for all participants, on average, to think that more info about a meal would add to their enjoyment of it, this was especially true for self-identified “foodies” (i.e., those who indicated that they knew a lot about and enjoyed food). There was a similar, although weaker, pattern for NFC: a tendency to enjoy thinking was somewhat correlated with a tendency to think that more information would lead to more enjoyment. There were no significant findings for generalized information-seeking.
This study suggests that although there is some variance in people’s intuitions across domains, most individuals agree that learning more information will enhance enjoyment (i.e., the Song Exploder effect). This viewpoint was especially likely to be endorsed by expert in each domain and by those scoring highly on a measure of dispositional need for cognition. To explore this topic further, and zero in on the Song Exploder effect specifically, I conducted another study on people’s intuitions with a focus on music.
Study 2: Intuitions Pretest 2
Method
Participants
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 15 The sample consisted of 131 participants, all of whom were recruited online via Amazon
Mechanical Turk and were each paid $0.50 Exclusions were made to the sample if participants did not pass an attention check and if the participant did not complete the survey. Out of the 210 participants who took the survey, 140 were male, 62 were female, and 8 chose not to report their gender. The age range waas 19-73 (M = 35). Before exclusions the sample size was 210 and after the exclusions the sample size was 131. In total, 71 participants were excluded for not passing the attention check and 8 participants were excluded for not completing the survey in its entirety.
Materials
The questionnaire that was created was aimed to measure participants intuitions about how learning behind-the-scenes information would affect their experience and level of liking. The survey started by collecting consent from each participant. They were then shown a screen with instructions. The instructions explained that some people feel that behind-the-scenes information makes them enjoy things more while other times people feel that behind-the-scenes information can ruin an experience and make them enjoy things less. Participants were asked to imagine that they were about to listen to a song that they had never heard of, but that is similar to other songs they typically like. They were asked to imagine that there were two different ways to listen to the song: Option A (with information) or Option B (without information).
There were four conditions for Option A: the story condition, the studio condition, the music theory condition, and the perception condition. In the story condition the information about the song was an expert pulling apart the song in terms of its background and details about how the song came to be including behind-the-scene stories about when and where the songwriter came up with the idea for the song and wrote the music, and what the lyrics mean. In
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 16 the studio condition the participant was told that they listened to an expert pull apart the song in terms of its studio recording and tells you details about how the songs sounds were created in studio and details about how the equipment was used and how different instrumental parts were recorded, digitally adjusted, and then mixed together in a way that transformed them from the way they originally sounded. In the music theory condition, information about the song was an expert pulling apart the song in terms of the music theory behind the song and told details about the structure of the song’s composition and musicality. It included information about how the chord progressions, harmonies, and key changed in the song in terms of music theory concepts.
The last condition, the perception condition, consisted of an expert pulling a song apart in terms of the physics of the sounds and how they are perceived. It included details about the pitch, timbre, and resonance of the sounds, and how the vibration frequencies are perceived by your sensory organs and processed by your brain. Within each of these conditions there was a lens and a non lens manipulation. In the lens manipulation the sentence, “The information you learned completely colors how you hear the song -- you can’t ‘unknow’ the information, and you can’t avoid hearing the song through the lens of what you know” was included at the end of Option A and in the non lens condition the sentence was not included. Option B for all of the conditions was held constant and was described, “You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of the information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.”
All participants answered the same questions comparing Option A and Option B.
Participants rated in which case hearing the song would produce more pleasure, be more interesting, in which case they would enjoy hearing the song more, have a deeper emotional
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 17 response from hearing the song, or develop a lasting fondness for the song. All questions were shown on the same page and had a forced response. Participants answered a likert scale that included answers, “Option A much more,” “Option A somewhat more,” “No difference,”
“Option B somewhat more,” and “Option B much more.” On the next page participants were asked to fill out a set of questions that are meant to measure NFC and preference for information.
This section of the survey consisted of eight questions, with four displayed on each page. Next participants were asked how much musical training/practice they had in their lives and how much they enjoy listening to music. Age and gender were also collected from participants. The last question served as an attention check and asked participants what kind of information was described in Option A. The question was in multiple choice format and each answer described one of the four conditions with a once sentence summary. Lastly the participants were debriefed about the goal of the survey and were given the code that would allow them to receive their payment via Mechanical Turk.
Results and Discussion
The first step in the analysis process was to create an enjoyment index by combining the answers of the 5 dependent variables that were significantly correlated with each other, feeling of pleasure, interest, enjoyment, emotional connection, and lasting fondness (α = .86). Next, a one-way ANOVA compared index across the four levels, perception, music theory, studio, and story. It found that index across the four levels is significant, F(3, 127) = 3.48, p = .018, meaning that the level, or the type of information given in Option A affects overall enjoyment.
Next, a t-test was used for each level to compare it to the scale midpoint, meaning there was no preference for Option A or B. Level 1 had a significant finding, M = .75, t(29) = 4.62, p <
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 18 .001, as well as level 2, M = .63, t(36) = 4.16, p < .001, and level 3, M = .41, t(29) = 2.02, p = .053. The positive mean suggests that participants in these 3 conditions preferred the option where they did not receive information. Level 4 was the only condition that did not have a preference for no information (M, = -.01), suggesting that participants had no preference on if they did or did not receive the information. When all levels were combined there was an overall preference for no information, M = .44, t(130) = 4.79, p < .001. A correlation was also done between each level of the enjoyment index and the NFC scale. Only level 1 has a significant finding, (r = -.41, p = .025). The negative correlation suggests that higher NFC is correlated with an increased desire for information. Level 2, 3, and
4, did not have significant correlations (r = -.03, r = -.1-, r = -.26). Overall, there was a marginally significant correlation between the overall enjoyment index and NFC (r = -.16, p = .065).
Another variable about dispositional information seeking was manipulated, and followed a similar correlational pattern as the enjoyment index to NFC. Again, level 1 had a found a significant correlation between information seeking and NFC (r = -.36, p = .053), suggesting that a desire for information seeking and high NFC are correlated with each other. Level 2, 3, 4, and overall information seeking were not significantly correlated with NFC (r = -.07, r = -.12, r = .01, r = -.12). I also ran a correlation between the enjoyment index overall and at each level and information seeking, but did not find any significant relationship
Overall, this study suggests that on average, people would prefer not to learn behind-the-scenes information about songs. This is true overall and specifically true for lower order conditions such as learning about perception, music theory, and information about studio
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 19 recording. In regards to information about story, there was no preference to seek or avoid information. This data supports William Proxmire’s theory that information leads to less enjoyment. Participants predicted that if they avoided the information, they would like the song more. I will put this prediction to test in my next study, as it opposes my hypothesis that listening to an episode of Song Exploder will increase liking of the song. Study 3: Lab Study 1
Participants
Our sample consisted of 73 participants. All participants attended Williams College and voluntarily participated for extra credit in their PSYC 101 class. The questionnaire was completed in person. Participants signed up for a session online and met the experimenter in the
Psychology building at Williams College. Participants were put into a room with a computer that had headphones and a survey pulled up on the computer. Participants were asked to keep all belongings outside of the room, including their cell phones, to avoid any distractions.
Participants signed up for the study voluntarily and were monitored by the experimenter while they completed the survey. No participants were excluded for any reason. Information on age and gender was not collected, but all participants were college age. By a priori decision, I excluded 4 participants who indicated that they were already familiar with the song used in the study (3 or greater on a 1-to-5-scale). After exclusions, the final sample size was 69.
Methods
The survey that was created was meant to measure how listening to a podcast with information about a song affected how much participants liked the song. Participants were told that we were studying how people listen to, enjoy, ad process audio content in their everyday
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 20 lives. They were told that they would listen to some audio materials and to pay attention because they will be asked some questions later about what they heard. Then participants were asked to put headphones on and listen to a test sound and to adjust the volume to a comfortable level.
After adjusting the headphones participants moved onto the next screen which was the first audio selection, a podcast. There were two podcasts that participants were randomly assigned to hear. Both podcasts were collected from a series called “Song Exploder” where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. The two episodes that were used in the study were “You Can’t Control It” by Jack Johnson, and “Last
Lion of Albion” by Neko Case. The podcasts were edited to remove ads and ranged from 9 minutes 17 seconds to 11 minutes and 51 seconds. Participants were not able to move on from the screen that played the podcast for a set amount time to ensure that they could not move on before they listened to the podcast in its entirety. After listening to the podcast participants were asked how often they listen to podcasts in their everyday lives and how clearly they could hear the podcast through their headphones. Participants reported their answers using a 5-point likert scale that ranged from “Not at all” to “Very much.”
Next, participants were given their next audio selection, a song. Participants were randomly assigned to hear the song “You Can’t Control It” or “Last Lion of Albion.” Because of this random selection, some participants listened to the song that had just been discussed in the podcast they listened to and some participants listened to a novel song that they did not know anything about. The songs ranged from 4 minutes and 14 seconds to 3 minutes and 41 seconds.
A timer was put on the screen again to ensure that participants could not advance the screen until the song was played in its entirety. After listening to the song participants were asked to report
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 21 how much they enjoyed the song, to rate their experience, to express how likely they were to seek the song out on a streaming service in the future, and to give it a letter grade from F to above an A. They reported all of their answers on a 5-point likert scale.
Next, participants were given their final audio selection. Again, this was either the song
“You Can’t Control It” or “Last Lion of Albion.” Participants were given whichever song they had not already heard and were not able to advance the screen until the song was played in its entirety. This meant that some participants heard the song that they had heard discussed in the podcast they listened to and some participants heard a novel song they did not know anything about. They were asked the same questions that they were asked after they heard the first song.
Next, after participants had heard a podcast and two songs they were asked to reflect on one of the songs they had heard. It was randomly assigned which song they were asked questions about first. The questions asked participants to rate how much effort they think went into making the song, how much of a connection they felt with the artist, to what degree they felt like the song had a “special quality”, to what degree the song appeals to them in a special way, to what degree they want to hear the song again, and how familiar they were with the song before the study. All questions were answered on a 5-point likert scale. The same questions were asked about the other song that they had also heard previously.
Next, participants were asked which Song Exploder episode they had heard at the beginning of the study. They were asked how much they thought hearing the podcast episode had affected their enjoyment/appreciation of the song and answered on a 5-point likert scale that ranged from “Made me like it much less” to “Made me like it much more.” They were then told what they had rated the song that they had heard the matching podcast for earlier in the survey
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 22 and asked how much they think they would have liked the song that they heard the podcast episode for if they had not heard the episode and had instead heard it “cold” and answered on a
5-point likert scale that ranged from “Not at all” to “Very much.”
Lastly participants answered eight questions that were meant to measure need for cognition. After completing these questions participants were thanked for their time and effort and asked to not share any information about the study with other students.
Results and Discussion
The first step in the data analysis was to organize the rating of the songs into the podcast group or the non-podcast control group. This meant that half of the ratings in the podcast group were for the Jack Johnson song and half of the ratings were for the Neko Case song, but all of the ratings were from participants who had heard the matching podcast to the song previous to listening to and rating the song. The control group were the ratings of the songs that participants had heard no information about prior to listening to and rating the song. The five liking measures were all intercorrelated for the podcast song (α = .92) and for the control song (α = .95). I collapsed across these liking measures to create a liking index for the podcast song and for the control song.
The main Song Exploder effect analysis was a 2 (heard Jack Johnson podcast or Neko
Case podcast) x 2 (rated podcast song or control song) mixed model ANOVA. A main effect was found, on average, participants rated their podcast song higher (M = 3.00) than their non-podcast song (M = 2.68), F(1, 67) = 4.56, p = .036. The same ANOVA also produced a significant interaction, F(1, 67) = 11.85, p = .001. This means that the size of the Song Exploder effect differs for the two songs.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 23 Next, the mechanism questions were analyzed. A difference score was created by subtracting the non-podcast song rating from the podcast song rating. This compared how much effort participants think was exerted to make the song they heard the Song Exploder episode about and how much effort participants think was exerted to make the non-podcast song. A difference score was created for all the other mechanism questions as well (connection, special quality, and personal appeal). The idea behind this analysis was that if effort is driving the Song
Exploder effect, the difference in effort ratings should correlate with the difference in liking ratings. These correlations turned out to be very interesting. Effort difference was negatively correlated with liking, r = -.24, p = .056. This suggests that a greater Song Exploder effect actually corresponds to a perception of less effort. The personal connection difference was marginally correlated with liking, r = .23, p = .07. The personal appeal difference was significantly correlated, r = .53, p < .001. The data used in these correlations is from both songs, so it does not stem from a tendency to prefer one song over the other. The extent to which participants preferred whichever song they heard the podcast for correlated with the extent to which the podcast song had a personal appeal. These results were used to design the next phase of the study in a way to determine causality instead of correlation. Surprisingly, the Song
Exploder difference did not correlate with NFC. Those high in NFC did not show a larger Song
Exploder difference.
Study 4: Lab Study 2
Method
Participants
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 24 A total of 137 participants completed the survey in exchange for a chance to win one of three $50 Amazon.com gift cards. Participants were recruited by email from class rosters and by word of mouth. The survey was performed online and was accessed via a link. Of the 137 participants 104 were female, 32 were males, 1 preferred not to say. There were an additional 55 participants who did not complete the survey and were not included in any analyses. By a priori decision, I excluded 7 participants who indicated that they were already familiar with the song used in the study (3 or greater on a 1-to-5-scale). After exclusions, the final sample size was 130.
Ages ranged from 18-75 (M = 25.5).
Procedure
First, all participants consented to the study and provided their name and email address. Participants were informed that they would take part in a study in which they would listen to different types of audio content, such as podcasts, news reports, songs, stories or sounds.
They were also told that they would be asked to answer some questions regarding the audio content. Participants were instructed to listen to the audio content over headphones or earbuds. Then, participants listened to a short audio selection of piano sounds to test if their headphones were working. After this, participants moved onto their first audio selection. They were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: the Song Exploder condition (n = 45), the control condition (n = 43), or the song repeat condition (n = 42). In the Song Exploder condition, all participants listened to the Jack Johnson, “You Can’t Control This” episode of Song Exploder from the previous study. The podcast lasted 9 minutes and 17 seconds. In the control condition, participants listened instead to a podcast called “TED Radio Hour” that was unrelated to the experiment. The topic was about executive functioning and lasted for 9 minutes and 16 seconds.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 25 In the song repeat condition, participants listened to the song “You Can’t Control It” on repeat for 9 minutes and 17 seconds, which played the song about two and a half times through. In all conditions, participants were prevented from advancing their screen for the duration of the podcast or songs to ensure that they listened to the audio content.
Participants were then asked a few questions as filler, such as how clearly they could hear the audio content and how much they typically listen to podcasts and music in their everyday lives. Next, they moved on to the second audio selection. This audio selection was the song “You
Can’t Control It,” played in its entirety, and it was the same for all conditions. The song is 4 minutes and 14 seconds long and participants were not able to advance the screen for the duration of the song. Next, participants completed the key dependent measures: how much they enjoyed listening to the song, how pleasant it was to listen to the song, what grade reflected their personal feelings about the song, and how likely they were to ever want to listen to the song again. All of these questions were answered on 6-point scales, from 0 to 5. Participants then indicated how much they were looking forward to and dreading listening to “You Can’t Control
It” when they were told the song was to be their second audio selection on 6-point scales ranging from “Not at all” (0) to “Very much” (5). The next set of questions was designed to assess each of three possible mechanisms for the Song Exploder effect. Participants indicated, from 0 to 5, how much effort they thought Jack Johnson put into making the song they heard, how much of a personal connection they felt to Jack Johnson, and the extent to which they felt the song had a
“special quality” (see Appendix D for the exact wording of these and other items in the experiment). Participants then indicated, again from 0 to 5, how familiar they had been with the song before the study.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 26 The next set of questions differed depending on which condition participants had been assigned to previously. In all conditions, participants were told what they had responded earlier when they were asked how much they enjoyed listening to the song “You Can’t Control It.”
Participants in the Song Exploder condition were then asked how much they thought they would have enjoyed listening to the song if they had heard it “cold,” without first hearing the episode of
Song Exploder. Participants in the control condition were asked to imagine that they had heard a podcast episode in which the singer, Jack Johnson, told the story of how he wrote and recorded
“You Can’t Control It,” and were then asked how much they thought they would have enjoyed the song if they had heard a podcast like that first. In other words, participants in the Song
Exploder condition imagined how much they would have liked the song if they had been assigned to the control condition, and participants in the control condition imagined how much they would have liked the song if they had been assigned to the Song Exploder condition.
(Participants in the song repeat condition were asked how much they thought they would have enjoyed listening to the song if they heard it only that one time, without having first heard it several times in a row on repeat. Because this question does not pertain to the central questions of my thesis, I did not analyze these responses and I do not discuss it further.) All participants answered their question on the same 6-point scale they had used for their original judgment.
Finally, participants reported their age and gender, completed the same brief measure of need for cognition used in the previous studies (Coelho et al., 2018), and were asked not to discuss the study with anyone.
Results and Discussion
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 27 Four questions measured how much the participant enjoyed listening to the song, how pleasant they thought it was, what grade they would have assigned it, and how likely they were to listen to the song again. An index was created using these four questions to determine overall rating of the song (α = .879). This index was used in a one-way ANOVA to test the proposed
“Song Exploder Effect.” The one-way ANOVA tested whether there was a statistically significant effect of condition (Song Exploder, control, or song repeat) on rating of the song.
There was a marginally significant effect of overall condition, F(2, 129) = 2.565, p = .081, and planned contrasts were run in order to explore this relationship further. The first contrast compared the Song Exploder and control condition. There was a statistically significant difference between the Song Exploder and control conditions: as expected, participants who listened to the Song Exploder episode rated the song higher (M = 3.51) than did participants who listened to the control podcast (M = 3.05), t(127) = 2.081, p = .039. This finding supports the main hypothesis that listening to the Song Exploder episode increases liking of the song discussed in the episode and replicates the Song Exploder effect seen in the previous study.
A second contrast was performed to compare the Song Exploder condition to the song repeat condition. This analysis was performed in order to rule out the possibility that the Song Exploder effect was due to mere exposure. It was found that participants who listened to the Song
Exploder episode rated the song higher (M = 3.51) than the participants who listened to the song on repeat (M = 3.11), suggesting that Song Exploder added to participants’ enjoyment over and above any boost that mere repetition might have caused, although the difference was only marginally significant, t(127) = 1.79, p = .076. By looking at the means for individual questions such as how much the participant enjoyed listening to the song, how pleasant they thought it was,
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 28 what grade they would have assigned it, and how likely they were to listen to the song again, more conclusions can be made about the difference between the song repeat condition and the
Song Exploder condition. For the questions asking how pleasant and how enjoyable the experience of listening to the song was (i.e., questions about the actual, online experience of hearing the song again), participants in the Song Exploder condition answered that their experience was significantly better than those in the song repeat condition. For the questions asking to assign a grade to the song and asking how likely participants were to listen to the song again (i.e., questions about the song’s enduring quality), there was no significant difference between the two conditions. This suggests that listening to the song over and over again did not, in fact, make hearing it yet again an enjoyable experience, but participants were still willing to say that the song that they listened to was not a bad song. Since the Song Exploder and song repeat conditions did differ significantly from each other on at least some measures, it would appear that mere exposure does not fully account for the Song Exploder effect. Still, because of the marginally significant overall effect, and my post-hoc distinction between the measures that
“worked” and those that did not, this finding should be confirmed, ideally with a larger sample size and with data collection in a lab rather than unsupervised.
Another one-way ANOVA was conducted on the variables that measured whether participants reported that they had been looking forward to hearing the song and whether they had been dreading it. There was a significant overall effect of condition on both dread, F(2, 129) = 10.9, p < .01, and looking forward, F(2, 129) = 9.2, p < .01, to listening to the song. Planned contrasts were run to explore these effects further. The first contrast compared the Song
Exploder condition and the control condition. These conditions differed significantly in regards
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 29 to looking forward to listening to the song, t(127) = 3.0, p = .003, indicating that participants in the Song Exploder condition were looking forward to listening to the song (M = 2.76) significantly more than participants in the control condition (M = 1.77). On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the Song Exploder condition and control condition when it came to feelings of dread (Ms = .42 and .67, respectively), t < 1. These results provide further confirmation of the Song Exploder hypothesis: participants who listened to the podcast episode discussing the song and how it was made experienced a feeling of eager anticipation and looking forward to hearing the song whereas participants in the control condition who listened to an unrelated podcast did not share this feeling. The groups did not differ in regards to feelings of dread, which makes sense because neither group had any reason to think listening to the song would be dreadful.
The second contrast compared the Song Exploder condition to the song repeat condition and revealed significant differences between the two conditions for both looking forward (Ms = 2.76 and 1.38, respectively), t(127)= 4.14, p < .05, and dread (Ms = 0.42 and 1.64, respectively) t(127) = -4.45 , p < .05. Participants in the Song Exploder condition were looking forward to the song more than those in the song repeat condition, and those in the song repeat condition were dreading listening to the song more than those in the Song Exploder condition. These results fully support the Song Exploder hypothesis. They also underscore the conclusion that the Song
Exploder effect goes beyond mere repeated exposure: participants in the Song Exploder condition were looking forward to listening to the song more than participants in the song repeat condition, suggesting again that merely being exposed to the song does not increase a feeling of anticipation. If anything, these results show that listening to the song on repeat made participants
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 30 like the song less! It is possible that the dread and dampened enjoyment in the repetition overexposure condition reflect something of an effect in which liking turns to loathing if one encounters a stimulus too many times. This effect has been shown in the domain of music
(Hunter & Schellenberg, 2010; Schellenberg, Peretz, & Viellard, 2008; Szpunar, Schellenberg, &
Pliner, 2004) but it is difficult to know if just over 9 minutes of repetition was enough to constitute overexposure. In any case, the results from this study cast doubt on the possibility that mere repeated exposure is a sufficient cause of the Song Exploder effect.
Mediational analyses
Recall that I proposed several possible mechanisms that might help explain why the insider information from an episode of Song Exploder would increase individuals’ subsequent enjoyment of a song: (1) an effort heuristic effect (learning about all the hard work that goes into the making of a song could lead individuals to value it more highly; Kruger et al., 2004), (2) a social connection effect (feelings of personal connection with and affinity towards the songwriter/performer could generalize to a positive assessment of his or her song), and (3) a nuanced appreciation effect (understanding the special qualities of a song in a deep, complex, and personal way may inspire an abiding fondness for it). As detailed earlier, each potential mediator was measured with a single questionnaire item answered on a 0-to-5 scale. To test these possible mechanisms, I performed two parallel mediation analyses, each including all three potential mediator variables*, and each designating participants’ condition (Song Exploder or control condition only) as the independent variable. In the first, the dependent variable was the index of participants’ evaluations of the song; in the other, it was participants’ ratings of their eager anticipation to listen to the song.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 31 Regression analyses indicated that participants’ condition was a significant predictor of
B p B social connection, =.42, = .01, and a marginally significant predictor of perceived effort, = p .33, = .07. In addition, both social connection and a nuanced appreciation of the song were B p significant predictors of both dependent variables: for social connection, = .27, = .04 for the B p index of participants’ evaluations, and = .72, = .003 for eager anticipation; for nuanced B p B p appreciation, = .56, < .0001 for the index of participants’ evaluations, and = .45, = .04 for eager anticipation. Consistent with the possibility that one or more of the variables mediated the effect of condition on both dependent variables, the total effect of condition on each
B p B p dependent variable ( = .41, = .06 for the index of participants’ evaluations; = .87, = .02 for eager anticipation) was reduced when the potential mediators were included the models
B (direct effect of condition on the index of participants’ evaluations: = .22, ns; direct effect of B p condition on eager anticipation: = .59, = .09). The two models accounted for approximately 35% and 25% of the variance on the dependent variables, respectively.
To assess mediation directly, I used the PROCESS macro for SPSS (version 3.4.1;
Hayes, 2017) to test the indirect effect of each of the potential mediators in each analysis using a percentile bootstrap estimation procedure with 5000 samples. This procedure revealed that feelings of social connection mediated the effect of condition on each dependent variable: for the
B B index of participants’ evaluations, = .11, 95% CI = .005, .28; for eager anticipation, = .30, 95% CI = .05, .63. None of the other indirect effects was statistically significant. These analyses indicate that listening to an episode of Song Exploder increased participants evaluations of, and eager anticipation for, the song because it fostered feelings of social connection with the performer. They cast doubt on the possibility that either of the other two mechanisms plays a
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 32 role in the Song Exploder effect.(Measures of the three mediators were all moderately correlated
r p r with one another: effort and personal connection, = .25, = .02; effort and special quality, = p r p .21, = .05; personal connection and special quality, = .39, < .001. This renders the mediational analyses reported below, which test the unique effect of each mediator, holding the others constant, conservative tests of mediation. Performing six separate mediational analyses to test each mediator for each dependent variable leads to the same conclusions as the analyses reported here.)
Counterfactual Judgements
How did participants think listening to the episode of Song Exploder affected (or would have affected) their enjoyment of the song? I focused on participants in the control and Song
Exploder conditions only, and found that participants in both conditions harbored a general belief that listening to the podcast episode increased (or would have increased) their subsequent enjoyment. Participants in the control condition predicted that listening to the podcast before hearing the song would have increased their enjoyment from 3.40 to 3.84, paired t(46) = 2.94, p = .005, and participants in the Song Exploder condition predicted that not having listened to the podcast episode before hearing the song would have decreased their enjoyment from 3.67 to 2.47, paired t(44) = 7.77, p < .001. Interestingly, although participants in these two conditions agreed with one another about the direction of the podcast effect (that it would increase enjoyment), they disagreed about its magnitude: the effect seemed greater to those who imagined its absence than to those who imagined its presence. As can be seen from the means reported above, those in the Song
Exploder condition predicted a difference (1.2 points) that was almost three times the difference
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 33 (0.44 points) predicted by those in the control condition. Accordingly, a 2 (condition: control vs.
Song Exploder) x 2 (podcast episode: with vs. without) mixed-model ANOVA revealed a statistically significant interaction, F(1, 88) = 12.25, p = .001. (This analysis also revealed significant main effects for both condition, F[1, 88] = 7.29, p = .008, and podcast episode, F[1, 88] = 58.00, p < .001.) Participants in the two conditions also differed when it came to the relative accuracy of their predictions. Predictions made by those in the control condition of how much they would have enjoyed the song if they had first heard the podcast were indistinguishable from the actual enjoyment reported by those in the Song Exploder condition (Ms = 3.84 and 3.67, reported above), t(88) = 0.74, ns, but the predictions of those in the Song Exploder condition of how much they would have enjoyed the song if they hadn’t first heard the podcast were significantly lower than the actual enjoyment reported by participants in the control condition (Ms = 2.47 and 3.40, reported above), t(88) = 4.15, p < .001. Thus, participants who imagined the presence of the podcast (participants for whom the podcast was an unknown entity that had to be mentally added to their experience) did so with relative accuracy, whereas participants who imagined the absence of the podcast (participants who knew precisely what the podcast consisted of and had to mentally subtract it from their experience) vastly overestimated its influence. This finding is curiously at odds with previous research on mental addition vs. subtraction (Dunning & Parpal,
1989), which has shown that people typically perceive a greater effect when asked to imagine the addition of a circumstance or behavior (e.g., “How many more exam questions would you have gotten correct if you had studied more?”) than when asked to imagine its subtraction (e.g., “How
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 34 many fewer exam questions would you have gotten correct if you had studied less?”). Future research should explore this apparent contradiction.
General Discussion
Overall, the initial hypothesis that the Song Exploder podcast leads to increased liking of the song was supported by the data that was collected. The mechanisms of merely being exposed, being aware of the effort put into production, and the existence of a “special quality” were ruled out as causes of the increased liking. It was determined that the social connection felt with the artist while listening to the podcast is the only significant mechanism that is responsible for the increased liking. This finding is nuanced and could be used in popular culture by artists, producers, and managers to guide methods that could increase popularity and advertising. These results could also have implications for how consumer products are marketed or even policy proposals and political ideas.
The essence of advertising is compelling consumers that they should choose one product over another product. Participants rated their anticipation of listening to the song highest when they listened to the Song Exploder podcast. They felt neutral when they listened to the control podcast, which makes sense because they had no reason to dread it or look forward to it because they knew nothing about it. In the condition where participants listened to the song on repeat, they had the highest feeling of dreading listening to the song again. These findings could be applied to when an artist is about to release a song. Frequently, before the release of a song artists will post a short clip of the song on a social media platform such as Instagram. People have the opportunity to listen to this short clip over and over again in order to give them insight into what the new release song will sound like. The findings in this study suggest that
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 35 anticipation of the new song may be increased if the artist releases a short clip of them talking about how the song was produced rather than releasing the sneak peak of the short clip. Future studies could be designed to see if the feeling of eagerness and anticipation that is a result of
Song Exploder lead to action. For example, a study could be designed to test if listening to a shortened clip of Song Exploder would lead to people choosing to listen to the song discussed more than people who listened to a sneak peak of the song.
The reason the Song Exploder effect works is because it increases the social connection that the listener feels toward the artist. Because of this, it would be interesting to see if listening to an episode of Song Exploder increases liking of multiple songs by the same artist. Another future study could be designed to test if listening to the Song Exploder episode where Jack
Johnson discusses his song “You Can’t Control It” also increases liking of another song by Jack
Johnson, such as “Banana Pancakes.” If this were true, it would be very efficient for an artist to produce one podcast or audio recording similar to the Song Exploder episode and increase liking for all of their songs. For example, Chance the Rapper has one album on Spotify that is incomplete because one song, “Juice” had licensing issues that prevented it from being uploaded.
In place of this is a 30 second clip of the artists explaining why it couldn’t be uploaded, and that if you listen to the 30 second clip all the way through that all streaming proceeds go directly to social work. I would predict that a short clip like this would have a similar effect as the Song
Exploder episode because it humanizes the artists and gives listeners a reason to feel socially connected to him. Taylor Swift also has some similar clips included in the deluxe version of her album, 1989. In these clips she takes 2-4 minutes to describe her songwriting process for 3 different songs that are included in the album. These clips again humanize her and might make
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 36 people like the specific songs that are discussed, or her music in general more than if they did not hear these clips. It would be interesting to know if a short clip like the ones used by Chance the
Rapper and Taylor Swift could have the same effect as the longer Song Exploder episode.
Going beyond the domain of music, it is possible that these findings could influence how consumer products are marketed. Maybe the most important information to include in a commercial is the information that creates a social connection between the producer and the consumer. Instead of talking about the great attributes of a product, maybe it is better to talk about the origin of it. For example, in their commercials, the “My Pillow” company has the inventor of their product talk about it. This social connection between the consumers and the inventor may lead customers to favor this pillow more than if the commercial had someone who wasn’t connected to the invention of the product simply listed the features of the pillow.
Another domain in which these results may translate is politics. The importance of social connection may suggest that in a campaign, political candidates may want to focus on establishing a social connection with the voters they are trying to win over before they focus on convincing them that their political ideas are worth voting for. It would be really interesting to run a study in which some participants heard a clip of the political candidate talking about a few facts about themselves unrelated to politics and some did not hear this clip. Participants would be given the same information about the candidates platform. I would predict that participants who heard the clip with personal information about the candidate would feel a social connection to them, and this social connection would make them more likely to vote for the candidate.
Although the findings of the study support the existence of the Song Exploder effect, it is important to acknowledge that only two songs were used. I believe that this finding is
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 37 generalizable to many more songs. All of the Song Exploder episodes included the same elements, such as the artists talking about what was going on in their personal life while they wrote the song, explaining their decision making process about using different instruments and more. If the reason for the increased liking is because the listener feels more socially connected to the artist, I believe that all episodes of Song Exploder would make listeners feel this way.
In closing, this research suggests that learning leads to love. Knowing more about the things you encounter, it seems, can enhance your aesthetic experience. Findings show that this is due to a feeling of social connection that is created between the listener and the artist. Future research should explore this effect more closely to determine how far the effect reaches and if this effect has a similar result in different domains.
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increases with repeated exposures to Nontonal Music: Revisiting MEE-Revisited. New
Ideas in Psychology, 54, 63–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2019.02.002 Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. (2012). The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love.
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Norton, M. I., Frost, J. H., & Ariely, D. (2007). Less is more: The lure of ambiguity, or why
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Norton, M. I., Frost, J. H., & Ariely, D. (2011). Does familiarity breed contempt or liking?
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Pliner, P. (1982). The Effects of Mere Exposure on Liking for Edible Substances. Appetite, 3(3), 283–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0195-6663(82)80026-3
Schellenberg, E. G., Peretz, I., & Vieillard, S. (2008). Liking for happy- and sad-sounding music:
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THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 41 Sweeny, K., Melnyk, D., Miller, W., & Shepperd, J. A. (2010). Information Avoidance: Who,
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Stimuli as a Function of Exposure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30(2), 370–381. Szubielska, M., Imbir, K., & Szymańska, A. (2019). The influence of the physical context and
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Psychology, 9(2, Pt.2), 1–27. doi: 10.1037/h0025848
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 42 Tables and Graphs
Table 1.
Means (and standard deviation) of rating of how much behind-the-scenes information about each domain would increase enjoyment. Mean scores of above 3 show that the information would increase decrease enjoyment and mean scores below 3 show that information would enjoyment.
Variables M SD Know r Enjoy r NFC r
Movie 3.39* (1.21) .15 .18† .22*
Food 3.99* (0.94) .30* .46* .12
Music 3.84* ( 0.85) .26* .27* .14
Magic 2.60* ( 1.44) .36* .30* .09
Art 4.13* ( 0.86) .06 .14 .22*
Note. M = Mean. Sd = Standard Deviation. Enjoy r = enjoyment index correlation. NFC r = need for cognition correlation.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 43 Table 2. t- t est Results comparing level and enjoyment index again zero (scale midpoint) and correlating the index with the NFC scale.
t- Level M v alue df p-value NFC r p-value
1 (Perception) .75 4.62 29 < .001 -.41, p = .025
2 (Music Theory) .63 4.16 36 < .001 -.03 ns
3 (Studio) .41 2.02 29 .053 -.10 ns
4 (Story) .01 <1 33 ns -.26 ns
Overall .44 4.79 130 < .001 -.16 p = .065
Note. M = Mean. df = degrees of freedom. NFC r = need for cognition correlation.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 44
Figure 1. Effect of podcast on enjoyment index rating. There is a significant difference in the rating of the podcast song compared to the control song.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 45
Figure 2. Effect of podcast on enjoyment index rating. There is a significant difference in the rating of the Jack Johnson song when listening to the Neko Case Podcast compared to when listening to the Jack Johnson podcast. The Neko Case song shows a similar pattern, but does not reach statistical significance.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 46
Figure 3. Effect of podcast on overall song rating. The Song Exploder condition had significantly higher rating of song compared to the other two conditions. The song repeat and control conditions had a marginally significant difference.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 47
Figure 4. Effect of podcast on looking forward to listening to song and dreading listening to song. The Song Exploder condition had the most eagerness to listen to the song, with the highest rating of looking forward to and the lowest rating of dread. The Song Repeat and Control condition did not differ significantly in looking forward to rating. The Song Repeat condition had the highest rating of dread.
THE SONG EXPLODER EFFECT 48
Figure 5. Comparison of actual enjoyment ratings versus predicted enjoyment ratings. Participants in the control condition predicted that listening to the podcast before the song would have increased their enjoyment. Participants in the Song Exploder condition predicted that not having listened to the podcast before would have decreased their enjoyment. Participants who imagined the presence of the Song Exploder podcast predicted enjoyment with relative accuracy, while participants who predicted enjoyment imagining the absence of the podcast overestimated its influence.
Appendix A Song Exploder Intuitions Study #1
Start of Block: Consent and Instructions
Q11 WELCOME Thank you for your interest in our survey. We will ask some brief questions about your views and preferences. It will take approximately 3-4 minutes and you will be paid $0.50. Confidentiality. No personally identifying information about you will be collected.
Your Rights. Your participation is voluntary. You do not have to participate if you do not wish to.
Would you like to continue? By clicking "I agree" and the arrow below, you indicate (1) you are at least 18 years old and (2) you have read and understood the information provided on this page. Thank you.
o I agree (1)
Page Break
Page 1 of 12
Q2 BRIEF INSTRUCTIONS Please answer the following questions. There are no right or wrong answers.
End of Block: Consent and Instructions
Start of Block: NFC and DEBRIEFING
Q8 How much do you enjoy each of these things? I enjoy it a I don't enjoy I enjoy it a I enjoy it a lot moderate I love this (5) this at all (1) little (2) (4) amount (3)
Film (1) o o o o o Food and cooking (2) o o o o o
Music (3) o o o o o Magic tricks (4) o o o o o
Art (5) o o o o o
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Q7 How much do you know about each of these things? I know I know a I am an I know a little I know a lot nothing about moderate expert in this (2) (4) this (1) amount (3) (5)
Film (1) o o o o o Food and cooking (2) o o o o o
Music (3) o o o o o Magic tricks (4) o o o o o
Art (5) o o o o o
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Q6 Imagine that before you view a painting, you learn a lot of behind-the-scenes information about the painting and how it was made.
You learn about the artist’s life and the circumstances under which the painting was created. You learn about the artistic techniques that the painter used to create the work, such as a certain style of brush stroke and use of color. And you learn about how the painting fits into a particular the style or "school" of artistic work. After learning all of this information, you view the painting.
How would all of this information affect your enjoyment of the painting?
o Would decrease my enjoyment a lot (1) o Would decrease my enjoyment a little (2) o No effect (3) o Would increase my enjoyment a little (4) o Would increase my enjoyment a lot (5)
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MAGIC Imagine that before you see a magic trick, you learn a lot of behind-the-scenes information about the trick and how it is done.
You learn how the magician came up with the idea for the trick. You learn how the trick is similar to certain other magic tricks, and also how it is unique. And you learn how the magician uses special equipment and slight-of-hand techniques, along with misdirecting the audience’s attention at a critical moment, to make the trick look believable. After learning all of this information, you see the magic trick. How would all of this information affect your enjoyment of the magic trick?
o Would decrease my enjoyment a lot (1) o Would decrease my enjoyment a little (2) o No effect (3) o Would increase my enjoyment a little (4) o Would increase my enjoyment a lot (5)
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SONG Imagine that before you listen to a song, you learn a lot of behind-the-scenes information about the song and how it was recorded.
You learn how the songwriter came up with the idea for the song and what the lyrics mean. You learn why the songwriter chose certain musicians and instruments to play on the recording. And you learn how each part was recorded and then mixed together by studio technicians into a finished song. After learning all of this information, you listen to the song.
How would all of this information affect your enjoyment of the song?
o Would decrease my enjoyment a lot (1) o Would decrease my enjoyment a little (2) o No effect (3) o Would increase my enjoyment a little (4) o Would increase my enjoyment a lot (5)
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MEAL Imagine that before you eat a meal, you learn a lot of behind-the-scenes information about the food and how it was made.
You learn about the chef who cooked the meal, including the chef's background and culinary education. You learn about how the the chef created and refined the recipe. And you learn details about how the meal was prepared: how each ingredient was sourced and the particular cooking techniques that were used. After learning all of this information, you eat the meal.
How would all of this information affect your enjoyment of the meal?
o Would decrease my enjoyment a lot (1) o Would decrease my enjoyment a little (2) o No effect (3) o Would increase my enjoyment a little (4) o Would increase my enjoyment a lot (5)
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MOVIE Imagine that before you watch a movie, you learn a lot of behind-the-scenes information about the movie and how it was made.
You learn how the script was written and then re-written by a team of screenwriters. You learn how different actors were cast in their roles. And you learn details about the filming process: how different scenes were lit, how the cameras were placed, how various filming locations were chosen, and how the special effects were created. After learning all of this information, you watch the movie.
How would all of this information affect your enjoyment of the movie?
o Would decrease my enjoyment a lot (1) o Would decrease my enjoyment a little (2) o No effect (3) o Would increase my enjoyment a little (4) o Would increase my enjoyment a lot (5)
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Q9 Please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) very well 5 at all 1 (1) (5) I prefer complex problems over simple o o o o o problems. (1) I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot o o o o o of thinking. (2) Thinking is NOT my idea of fun. (3) o o o o o
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Q10 Final questions: page 2 of 2. Please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) very well 5 at all 1 (1) (5) I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to o o o o o challenge my thinking abilities. (1) I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new o o o o o solutions to problems. (2) I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat o o o o o important but does not require much thought. (5)
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Q13 Age
______
Q14 Gender
o M (1) o F (2) o Other or rather not say (3)
Page Break
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Q12
That is the end of this survey. We are hoping to learn more about how knowledge affects people's happiness in their everyday lives. Your responses today will be very helpful in our work. Thank you very much for your time and effort.
Please enter the following code in Mechanical Turk to receive your payment. Thanks again.
survey-${e://Field/IDNUMBER}
End of Block: NFC and DEBRIEFING
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Appendix B Song Exploder Intuitions Study #2
Start of Block: Consent and Instructions
Q11 WELCOME Thank you for your interest in our survey. We will ask some brief questions about your views and preferences. It will take approximately 4-5 minutes and you will be paid $0.50. Confidentiality. No personally identifying information about you will be collected.
Your Rights. Your participation is voluntary. You do not have to participate if you do not wish to.
Would you like to continue? By clicking "I agree" and the arrow below, you indicate (1) you are at least 18 years old and (2) you have read and understood the information provided on this page. Thank you.
o I agree (1)
Page Break
Page 1 of 12
Q2 BRIEF INSTRUCTIONS: IMAGINE HEARING A SONG Sometimes people feel that behind-the-scenes information makes them enjoy things more. Other times, people feel that it's like a “spoiler” in a movie—that it ruins their experience and makes them enjoy things less. With that in mind, imagine you are about to listen to a song. It’s a song you’ve never heard but it’s the sort you typically like. Imagine that there are two ways you can listen to the song: Option A (with information) or Option B (without information), as described on the next page.
End of Block: Consent and Instructions
Start of Block: STORY
Q23 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of its background and tells you details about how the song came to be. You learn behind-the-scenes stories about when and where the songwriter came up with the idea for the song and wrote the music, and what the lyrics mean. Then you hear the song in its entirety. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: STORY
Start of Block: STORYLENS
Q33 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of its background and tells you details about how the song came to be. You learn behind-the-scenes stories about when and where the songwriter came up with the idea for the song and wrote the music, and what the lyrics mean. Then you hear the song in its entirety. The information you learned completely colors how you hear the song -- you can’t “unknow” the information, and you can’t avoid hearing the song through the lens of what you now know. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: STORYLENS
Start of Block: STUDIO
Q24 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of its studio recording and tells you details about how its sounds were created in the studio. You learn behind-the-scenes information about the
Page 2 of 12
equipment that was used (types of microphones, etc.) and how different instrumental parts were recorded, digitally adjusted, and then mixed together in a way that transformed them from the way they originally sounded. Then you hear the song in its entirety. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: STUDIO
Start of Block: STUDIOLENS
Q34 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of its studio recording and tells you details about how its sounds were created in the studio. You learn behind-the-scenes information about the equipment that was used (types of microphones, etc.) and how different instrumental parts were recorded, digitally adjusted, and then mixed together in a way that transformed them from the way they originally sounded. Then you hear the song in its entirety. The information you learned completely colors how you hear the song -- you can’t “unknow” the information, and you can’t avoid hearing the song through the lens of what you now know. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: STUDIOLENS
Start of Block: THEORY
Q25 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of the music theory behind the song and tells you details about the structure of its composition and musicality. You learn behind-the-scenes information about how the chord progressions, harmonies, and key changes in the song work in terms of music theory concepts. Then you hear the song in its entirety. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: THEORY
Start of Block: THEORYLENS
Q35 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of the music theory behind the song and tells you details about the structure of its composition and musicality. You learn behind-the-scenes information about how the chord progressions, harmonies, and key changes in the song work in terms of music theory concepts. Then you hear the song in its entirety. The information you learned completely colors how you hear the song -- you can’t “unknow” the information, and
Page 3 of 12
you can’t avoid hearing the song through the lens of what you now know. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: THEORYLENS
Start of Block: PERCEPTION
Q26 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of the physics of the sounds and how they are perceived. You learn behind-the-scenes information about the pitch, timbre, and resonance of the sounds, and how the vibration frequencies are perceived by your sensory organs and processed by your brain. Then you hear the song in its entirety. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: PERCEPTION
Start of Block: PERCEPTIONLENS
Q36 PLEASE READ THESE OPTIONS CAREFULLY Option A. Before you listen, an expert “pulls the song apart” in terms of the physics of the sounds and how they are perceived. You learn behind-the-scenes information about the pitch, timbre, and resonance of the sounds, and how the vibration frequencies are perceived by your sensory organs and processed by your brain. Then you hear the song in its entirety. The information you learned completely colors how you hear the song -- you can’t “unknow” the information, and you can’t avoid hearing the song through the lens of what you now know. or Option B. You just listen to the song in its entirety without pulling it apart or learning any of that information. You experience it “plain,” as it would normally be experienced.
End of Block: PERCEPTIONLENS
Start of Block: DVs
Q18 The questions below refer to what it would be like for you to hear the song, either in Option A (after first learning the behind-the-scenes info) or in Option B (hearing it "plain," without learning the info first).
Page 4 of 12
Q17 In which case would hearing the song produce more pleasure for you?
o Option A much more (-2) o Option A somewhat more (-1) o No difference (0) o Option B somewhat more (1) o Option B much more (2)
Q21 In which case would hearing the song be more interesting for you?
o Option A much more (-2) o Option A somewhat more (-1) o No difference (0) o Option B somewhat more (1) o Option B much more (2)
Q22 In which case would you enjoy hearing the song more?
o Option A much more (-2) o Option A somewhat more (-1) o No difference (0) o Option B somewhat more (1) o Option B much more (2)
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Q23 In which case would you have a deeper emotional response from hearing the song?
o Option A much more (-2) o Option A somewhat more (-1) o No difference (0) o Option B somewhat more (1) o Option B much more (2)
Q20 In which case would you develop a lasting fondness for the song (e.g., likely to listen to it again in the future, add it to playlists)?
o Option A much more (-2) o Option A somewhat more (-1) o No difference (0) o Option B somewhat more (1) o Option B much more (2)
End of Block: DVs
Start of Block: NFC, expertise, demos, attention check
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Q9 Now, please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) very well 4 at all 0 (0) (4) 1. I prefer complex problems more than simple o o o o o problems. (1) 2. I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot o o o o o of thinking. (2) 3. Thinking is NOT my idea of fun. (3) o o o o o 4. I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat o o o o o important but does not require much thought. (4)
Page Break
Page 7 of 12
Q10 Again, please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) very well 4 at all 0 (0) (4) 5. I would rather do something that requires little thought than something o o o o o that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities. (1) 6. I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new o o o o o solutions to problems. (2) 7. When it comes to possible bad news, I am someone who says, "Don't tell me, o o o o o I just don't want to know." (3) 8. I am someone who always wants to know more information, even if that information o o o o o may be disappointing or upsetting. (4)
Page 8 of 12
Page Break
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Q15 How much musical training/practice have you had in your life?
o None 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o I'm an expert musician 4 (4)
Q16 How much do you enjoy listening to music?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o I love listening to music 4 (4)
Page Break
Page 10 of 12
Q13 Age
______
Q14 Gender
o M (1) o F (2) o Other or rather not say (3)
Page Break
Page 11 of 12
Q27 Earlier, we asked you to imagine what it would be like to learn some behind-the-scenes information about a song (i.e., Option A). What kind of information did we describe in Option A?
o Information about the story behind the song, including what the lyrics mean (1) o Information about the studio recording of the song, including the equipment that was used (2)
o Information about the music theory behind the song, including the chord progressions and key changes (3)
o Information about the physics of the sounds and how they are perceived, including the pitch, timbre, and resonance of the sounds (4)
o None of these or I can't remember (5)
End of Block: NFC, expertise, demos, attention check
Start of Block: DEBRIEFING
Q12
That is the end of this survey. We are hoping to learn more about how knowledge affects people's happiness in their everyday lives, including their enjoyment of sensory experiences. Your responses today will be very helpful in our work. Thank you very much for your time and effort.
Please enter the following code in Mechanical Turk to receive your payment. Thanks again.
knowledge-${e://Field/IDNUMBER}
End of Block: DEBRIEFING
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Appendix C Song Exploder Lab Study #1
Start of Block: Consent/Instructions
Q3 CONSENT
Thank you for your interest in our study. During this study you will be asked to listen to some audio materials and answer some questions. The audio content may include podcasts, news reports, songs, stories, or sounds. The study will take approximately 30 minutes today and we may recontact you later with a few very brief follow up questions.
Risks and benefits. You can earn extra course credit in PSYC 101 by participating in this research. We do not foresee any risks to you as a consequence of your participation.
Confidentiality. All of your responses in this study will be kept confidential. Only research personnel will have access to your responses. (We will ask for your name and email address on the next page so that we can contact you for the brief follow up questions and to ensure that you receive your extra credit.)
Your rights. Your participation is voluntary. You do not have to participate if you do not wish to. If you choose to participate, you have the right to change your mind and leave the study at any time.
Would you like to continue? By clicking "I agree" and the arrow below, you indicate (1) you are at least 18 years old and (2) you have read and understood the information provided on this page. If you have any questions, please ask the experimenter now. Thank you.
o I agree (1)
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Q5 Please enter your name.
______
Q7 Please enter your email address.
______
Page Break
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Q11 Thank you. In this study we are examining how people listen to, enjoy, and process audio content that they encounter in their everyday lives. The computer will select some audio materials for you to listen to. These may include news reports, podcasts, songs, stories, or recorded sounds. Please listen carefully as we will ask you some questions later about what you heard.
Please put the headphones on now if you have not done so already. In a moment we will play some test sounds to make sure your headphones are working and that the volume is set at an acceptable level. You are free to adjust the volume to a comfortable level at any time during the study.
Page Break
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Q114 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q13
When you are ready, please press the play button (the triangle below, on the left) to play the test sounds. This is a good time to adjust the volume to a comfortable level. When you are finished with the test sounds, press → to continue. (There may be a slight pause while the computer selects your audio content.)
Page Break
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Q57 ...
Q124 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
End of Block: Consent/Instructions
Start of Block: "You Can't Control It" podcast
Q12 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q13 FIRST AUDIO SELECTION: PODCAST
The first audio selection for you is an episode of a podcast called "Song Exploder." You will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire podcast, so please sit back and listen.
Q125 Press play when you are ready.
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Q21 Please answer a few questions. Not at all 0 Very much 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) (0) 5 (5) How often do you listen to podcasts in your everyday o o o o o o life? (1) How clearly could you hear the podcast through your o o o o o o headphones? (2)
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Q125 Thank you. We will now move on to additional audio content. This content will include "You Can't Control It," the song that was discussed in the podcast you just heard.
End of Block: "You Can't Control It" podcast
Start of Block: "Last Lion of Albion" podcast
Q126 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q199 FIRST AUDIO SELECTION: PODCAST
The first audio selection for you is an episode of a podcast called "Song Exploder." You will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire podcast, so please sit back and listen.
Q127 Press play when you are ready.
Page Break
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Q201 Please answer a few questions. Not at all 0 Very much 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) (0) 5 (5) How often do you listen to podcasts in your everyday o o o o o o life? (1) How clearly could you hear the podcast through your o o o o o o headphones? (2)
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Q202 Thank you. We will now move on to additional audio content. This content will include "Last Lion of Albion," the song that was discussed in the podcast you just heard.
End of Block: "Last Lion of Albion" podcast
Start of Block: "You Can't Control It" song
Q18 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q14 NEXT AUDIO SELECTION: SONG
The next audio selection for you is a song: "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson, played in its entirety.
Once again, you will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire selection, so please sit back and listen.
Q19 Press play when you are ready.
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Q126 Please answer some questions about the song you just heard.
Q20 How much did you enjoy listening to this song?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
Q24 How would you rate your experience of listening to this song just now?
o Not at all pleasant 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very pleasant 5 (5)
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Q127 Do you think you will ever seek this song out (e.g., on a streaming service) so that you can listen to it again sometime?
o No chance 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Yes, high chance 5 (5)
Q26 Please give this song a grade that reflects your personal feelings about it.
o F (0) o D (1) o C (2) o B (3) o A (4) o Above an A (5)
End of Block: "You Can't Control It" song
Start of Block: "Last Lion of Albion" song
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Q190 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q191 NEXT AUDIO SELECTION: SONG
The next audio selection for you is a song: "Last Lion of Albion" by Neko Case, played in its entirety.
Once again, you will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire selection, so please sit back and listen.
Q192 Press play when you are ready.
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Q193 Please answer some questions about the song you just heard.
Q194 How much did you enjoy listening to this song?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
Q195 How would you rate your experience of listening to this song just now?
o Not at all pleasant 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very pleasant 5 (5)
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Q196 Do you think you will ever seek this song out (e.g., on a streaming service) so that you can listen to it again sometime?
o No chance 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Yes, high chance 5 (5)
Q197 Please give this song a grade that reflects your personal feelings about it.
o F (0) o D (1) o C (2) o B (3) o A (4) o Above an A (5)
End of Block: "Last Lion of Albion" song
Start of Block: FINAL DVs for "You Can't Control It"
Q52 You heard two different songs today. The questions on the next few pages all refer to "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson.
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Q53 Compared to other songs, how much effort would you say went into the making of "You Can't Control It"?
o None 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o A great deal 5 (5)
Q135 To what extent do you feel a connection with Jack Johnson, the artist who recorded this song? In other words, even though you don't know him personally, to what extent do you feel like you know him, based on what you heard today?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
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Q116 How much do you agree with each of these statements when it comes to "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson? Not at all 0 Very much 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) (0) 5 (5) I feel like the song has a "special quality" o o o o o o that I like. (1) The song appeals to me in a special, personal o o o o o o way. (2) I think I'll definitely want to hear the song again. o o o o o o (3)
Q54 How familiar were you with this song before the study today?
o Never heard it 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very familiar 5 (5)
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End of Block: FINAL DVs for "You Can't Control It"
Start of Block: FINAL DVs for "Last Lion of Albion"
Q176 You heard two different songs today. The questions on the next few pages all refer to "Last Lion of Albion" by Neko Case.
Q177 Compared to other songs, how much effort would you say went into the making of "Last Lion of Albion"?
o None 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o A great deal 5 (5)
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Q178 To what extent do you feel a connection with Neko Case, the artist who recorded this song? In other words, even though you don't know her personally, to what extent do you feel like you know her, based on what you heard today?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
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Q179 How much do you agree with each of these statements when it comes to "Last Lion of Albion" by Neko Case? Not at all 0 Very much 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) (0) 5 (5) I feel like the song has a "special quality" o o o o o o that I like. (1) The song appeals to me in a special, personal o o o o o o way. (2) I think I'll definitely want to hear the song again. o o o o o o (3)
Q180 How familiar were you with this song before the study today?
o Never heard it 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very familiar 5 (5)
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End of Block: FINAL DVs for "Last Lion of Albion"
Start of Block: New idea block
Q50 Earlier in the study, you listened to an episode of the podcast "Song Exploder" all about a particular song, and then you listened to that song in its entirety. For which song did you hear the Song Exploder episode?
o "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson (1) o "Last Lion of Albion" by Neko Case (2)
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Q49 How do you think hearing Song Exploder affected your enjoyment/appreciation of ${Q50/ChoiceGroup/SelectedChoices} when you then heard it?
o -2 Made me like it much less (-2) o -1 Made me like it somewhat less (-1) o 0 Had no effect on how much I liked it (0) o +1 Made me like it somewhat more (1) o +2 Made me like it much more (2)
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Display This Question: If Earlier in the study, you listened to an episode of the podcast "Song Exploder" all about a parti... = "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson
Q51 Earlier, when we asked how much you enjoyed "You Can't Control It" on a 0-to-5 scale, you answered ${Q20/ChoiceGroup/SelectedChoices}. How much do you think you would you have enjoyed this song if you heard it "cold," without first hearing the Song Exploder episode?
o Not at all 0 (1) o 1 (2) o 2 (3) o 3 (4) o 4 (5) o Very much 5 (6)
Display This Question: If Earlier in the study, you listened to an episode of the podcast "Song Exploder" all about a parti... = "Last Lion of Albion" by Neko Case
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Q52 Earlier, when we asked how much you enjoyed "Last Lion of Albion" on a 0-to-5 scale, you answered ${Q194/ChoiceGroup/SelectedChoices}. How much do you think you would you have enjoyed this song if you heard it "cold," without first hearing the Song Exploder episode?
o Not at all 0 (1) o 1 (2) o 2 (3) o 3 (4) o 4 (5) o Very much 5 (6)
End of Block: New idea block
Start of Block: NFC
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Q111 Final questions page 1 of 2. Please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) very well 4 at all 0 (0) (4) I prefer complex problems over simple o o o o o problems. (1) I like having the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot o o o o o of thinking. (2) Thinking is NOT my idea of fun. (3) o o o o o I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat o o o o o important but does not require much thought. (4)
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Q48 Final questions page 2 of 2. Please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) very well 4 at all 0 (0) (4) I would rather do something that requires a little thought than something that is sure to o o o o o challenge my thinking abilities. (1) I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new o o o o o solutions to problems. (2) When it comes to possible bad news, I am someone who says "Don't tell me, o o o o o I just don't want to know." (3) I am someone who always wants to know more information, even if that information o o o o o may be disappointing or upsetting. (4)
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Q113 That is the end of the study. Thank you very much for your time and effort.
This study is being conduced by Marissa Anderson, as part of her senior thesis in psychology. Because that research is ongoing, we ask that you not discuss this study with any other students in PSYC 101. When this study is complete, you will receive an email from Marissa with information about her findings.
Please let the experimenter know you are finished.
End of Block: NFC
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Appendix D Song Exploder Lab Study #2
Start of Block: Consent/Instructions
Q3 CONSENT
Thank you for your interest in our study. During this study you will be asked to listen to some audio materials and answer some questions. The audio content may include podcasts, news reports, songs, stories, or sounds. The study will take approximately 20 minutes today and we may recontact you later with some very brief follow-up questions. * To participate in this study, you will need to be able to listen to audio content on headphones (earbuds are fine). Please have headphones in place before you proceed. Risks and benefits. This study has been reviewed and approved by the Williams College IRB. We do not foresee any risks to you as a consequence of your participation. All participants will be entered into a drawing for one of three $50 Amazon gift cards.
Confidentiality. All of your responses in this study will be kept confidential. Only research personnel will have access to your responses. (We will ask for your name and email address on the next page in case we need to contact you for some brief follow-up questions and in case you are selected for one of the gift cards.)
Your rights. Your participation is voluntary. You do not have to participate if you do not wish to. If you choose to participate, you have the right to change your mind and leave the study at any time.
Would you like to continue? By clicking "I agree" and the arrow below, you indicate (1) you are at least 18 years old and (2) you have read and understood the information provided on this page. If you have any questions, you may email the experimenter, Marissa Anderson ([email protected]). Thank you.
o I agree (1)
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Q5 Please enter your name.
______
Q7 Please enter your email address.
______
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Q11 LISTENING TO AUDIO CONTENT
Thank you. In this study we are examining how people listen to, enjoy, and process audio content that they encounter in their everyday lives. The computer will select some audio materials for you to listen to. These may include news reports, podcasts, songs, stories, or recorded sounds. Please listen carefully as we will ask you some questions later about what you heard.
You will need to have headphones (earbuds are fine). Please put your headphones on now if you have not done so already. In a moment we will play some test sounds to make sure your headphones are working and that the volume is set at an acceptable level. You are free to adjust the volume to a comfortable level at any time during the study.
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Q114 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q13 HEADPHONES TEST
When you are ready, please press the play button (the triangle below, on the left) to play the test sounds. This is a good time to adjust the volume to a comfortable level (you can play the test sounds several times if you need to). When you are finished with the test sounds, press → to continue. (There may be a slight pause while the computer selects your audio content.)
End of Block: Consent/Instructions
Start of Block: Song Exploder
Q12 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q13 FIRST AUDIO SELECTION: PODCAST
The first audio selection for you is from an episode of a podcast called "Song Exploder." Listen closely to the podcast. You will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire podcast, so please sit back and listen.
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Q125 Press play when you are ready.
End of Block: Song Exploder
Start of Block: Control
Q84 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
Q82 FIRST AUDIO SELECTION: PODCAST
The first audio selection for you is from an episode of a podcast called "TED Radio Hour." Listen closely to the podcast. You will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire podcast, so please sit back and listen.
Q83 Press play when you are ready.
End of Block: Control
Start of Block: Song Repeat
Q87 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
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Q85 FIRST AUDIO SELECTION: SONG ON REPEAT
The first audio selection for you is a song called "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson. You will be listening to this song several times back to back, on repeat. Listen closely to each repetition of the song. You will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire audio selection, so please sit back and listen.
Q86 Press play when you are ready.
End of Block: Song Repeat
Start of Block: DVs
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Q330 Please answer a few questions. Not at all 0 Very much 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) (0) 5 (5) How clearly could you hear the audio content through your o o o o o o headphones? (1) How much do you typically enjoy listening to podcasts in o o o o o o your everyday life? (2) How much do you typically enjoy listening to music in o o o o o o your everyday life? (3)
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Q331 Thank you. We will now move on to additional audio content, some of which may be related to the audio content you just heard.
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Q340 SECOND AUDIO SELECTION: SONG
The second audio selection for you is a song called "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson. You will hear it through once, in its entirety. You will not be able to advance the screen until you listen to the entire song, so please sit back and listen.
Q341 Press play when you are ready.
Q342 Timing First Click (1) Last Click (2) Page Submit (3) Click Count (4)
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Q343 Please answer some questions about the song you just heard, "You Can't Control It," by Jack Johnson.
Q344 How much did you enjoy listening to this song just now?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
Q345 How would you rate your experience of listening to this song just now?
o Not at all pleasant 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very pleasant 5 (5)
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Q346 Please give this song a grade that reflects your personal feelings about it.
o F (0) o D (1) o C (2) o B (3) o A (4) o Above an A (5)
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Q347 How likely are you to ever want to listen to this song again?
o Very unlikely 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very Likely 5 (5)
Q47 When we told you that your second audio selection in this study was going to be "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson, what were your thoughts? Indicate how much you were dreading it vs. were looking forward to it. (If your thoughts were completely neutral -- neither dread nor looking forward -- it's fine to click 0 for both.) Not at all 0 Very much 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) (0) 5 (5) I was dreading it. (1) o o o o o o I was looking forward to it. (2) o o o o o o
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Q348 Thanks. Now please answer some additional questions about "You Can't Control It" by Jack Johnson.
Q349 EFFORT. Compared to other, typical songs, how much total effort would you say went into the making of the song?
o None 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o A great deal 5 (5)
Q135 PERSONAL CONNECTION FEELING. Even though you don't know the singer Jack Johnson personally, you may still feel like you know him, based on what you heard today -- or you may not feel that way. To what extent do you feel this kind of personal connection to him?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
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Q136 SPECIAL QUALITY. Sometimes a song just has a certain "special quality" that makes it appealing to someone in a personal way -- it just clicks for you even though it might not for everyone. To what extent would you say the song has this special quality for you?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
Q137 FAMILIARITY. How familiar were you with the song before the study today?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very much 5 (5)
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Display This Question: If Condition = Song Exploder
Q358 Earlier, when we asked how much you enjoyed listening to "You Can't Control It" on a 0-to-5 scale, you answered ${Q344/ChoiceGroup/SelectedChoices}.
How much do you think you would have enjoyed listening to the song if you had heard it "cold," without first hearing the episode of Song Exploder about it?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very Much 5 (5)
Display This Question: If Condition = Song Repeat
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Q132 Earlier, when we asked how much you enjoyed listening to "You Can't Control It" on a 0-to-5 scale, you answered ${Q344/ChoiceGroup/SelectedChoices}.
How much do you think you would have enjoyed listening to the song if you heard it only that one time, without having first heard it several times in a row on repeat?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very Much 5 (5)
Display This Question: If Condition = Control
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Q133 Earlier, when we asked how much you enjoyed listening to "You Can't Control It" on a 0-to-5 scale, you answered ${Q344/ChoiceGroup/SelectedChoices}.
Imagine that before you heard the song today, you had first heard an episode of a podcast in which the singer, Jack Johnson, told the story of how he wrote and recorded "You Can't Control It." How much do you think you would have enjoyed listening to the song if you had heard a podcast episode like that first?
o Not at all 0 (0) o 1 (1) o 2 (2) o 3 (3) o 4 (4) o Very Much 5 (5)
End of Block: DVs
Start of Block: NFC, Demographics, and Debriefing
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Q367 Final questions: page 1 of 3. Please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) very well 5 at all 1 (1) (5) I prefer complex problems over simple o o o o o problems. (1) I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot o o o o o of thinking. (2) Thinking is NOT my idea of fun. (3) o o o o o
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Q368 Final questions: page 2 of 3. Please indicate the degree to which each of these statements describes you. Does not Describes me describe me 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) very well 5 at all 1 (1) (5) I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to o o o o o challenge my thinking abilities. (1) I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new o o o o o solutions to problems. (2) I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat o o o o o important but does not require much thought. (5)
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Q369 Final questions: page 3 of 3.
Age
______
Q370 Gender
o Male (1) o Female (2) o Other or rather not say (3)
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Q48 That is the end of the study -- thank you very much for your time and effort!
This study is being conducted by Marissa Anderson, as part of her senior thesis in psychology, supervised by Professor Savitsky.
Because the research is ongoing, we ask that you do not discuss this study with anyone. When the study is complete, you will receive an email from Marissa with information about her findings. If you have questions or comments, you may email Marissa at [email protected] or Professor Savitsky at [email protected].
All participants will be entered into a drawing for one of three $50 Amazon gift cards. Thanks again!
End of Block: NFC, Demographics, and Debriefing
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