Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response: Scale Development and Personality Correlates

Altered states of consciousness refer to qualitative shifts in an individual's overall pattern of mental functioning. This article presents the 3-part development and validation of a multidimensional self-report measure of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). ASMR is an intensely pleasurable, head-orientated tingling sensation that typically occurs in response to specific, audiovisual triggers, producing feelings of comfort, relaxation and euphoria. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, conducting a content analysis on 303 accounts of ASMR, to derive a comprehensive self-report measure. Exploratory (n = 453; n = 448) and confirmatory analyses (n = 448) were utilized to determine the underlying factor structure of the ASMR measure and replicability of findings across assessment applications. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed through comparisons with other, established alterations of consciousness, including frisson, absorption, alexithymia, flow, misophonia and anxiety. The resultant ASMR-15 demonstrated sufficient internal consistency (alpha = .78) and validity as a measure of ASMR propensity, and may be useful to researchers interested in further exploring and disentangling ASMR from other alterations of consciousness.