BFM 30sec intros pilot v1.1
Questions
1) Do you think this music would help you to work?
2) Did you enjoy listening to this? (i.e., for pleasure instead of productivity)
Each person answered both of these questions,
Our participants responded on a scale of 1-10, and were asked to include both '1' and '10' among their 8 responses.
The questions were asked separately:
First they would give responses to the first question, for all 8 tracks.
Then, on another page, they would give responses for the second question.
The tracks were intended to represent various genres, but differed in many ways. Generalize with caution!
Tracks were not labeled in the experiment, and track positions were randomized each time.
Our participants responded on a scale of 1-10, and were asked to include both '1' and '10' among their 8 responses.
The questions were asked separately:
First they would give responses to the first question, for all 8 tracks.
Then, on another page, they would give responses for the second question.
The tracks were intended to represent various genres, but differed in many ways. Generalize with caution!
Tracks were not labeled in the experiment, and track positions were randomized each time.
1. Cinematic
2. Classical (baroque piano)
3. Electronic
4. Folk
5. HipHop
6. Pads
7. PopElectro
8. Postrock
Estimating population means
Errorbars depict 95% confidence intervals (in the limit of infinite data, we are 95% sure the 'true value' would fall in the interval).
So, where bars are non-overlapping (or nearly so) we can have some confidence that the mean values really are different.
All participants
What can we see in this data?
- Track 7 ('PopElectro') is very well-liked... but people think it may not be good to work to!
- Track 8 ('Postrock') is similarly well-liked, and people think it may be better to work to.
- Track 3 is rated as pretty good for working, despite being aesthetically mediocre.
- Track 3 and Track 4 ('Electronic' and 'Folk') are rated as similarly good for work, but people enjoy Track 4 ('Folk') more.
- Pads are boring (unenjoyable)
Remember- these are just averages! The underlying distribution often tells a more complex story.
For example, the average work-rating for Pads actually hides a group of people who love Pads as work-music!
And the success of Track 8 ('Postrock') comes not from people loving it, but rather from nobody hating it.
Later we'll look at variability in detail, but for now we can continue to look at averages.
Do our estimated means change if the data is broken down by demographic groups?
Let's try this first by gender.
- Track 7 ('PopElectro') is very well-liked... but people think it may not be good to work to!
- Track 8 ('Postrock') is similarly well-liked, and people think it may be better to work to.
- Track 3 is rated as pretty good for working, despite being aesthetically mediocre.
- Track 3 and Track 4 ('Electronic' and 'Folk') are rated as similarly good for work, but people enjoy Track 4 ('Folk') more.
- Pads are boring (unenjoyable)
Remember- these are just averages! The underlying distribution often tells a more complex story.
For example, the average work-rating for Pads actually hides a group of people who love Pads as work-music!
And the success of Track 8 ('Postrock') comes not from people loving it, but rather from nobody hating it.
Later we'll look at variability in detail, but for now we can continue to look at averages.
Do our estimated means change if the data is broken down by demographic groups?
Let's try this first by gender.
Demographic: Male
What can we see in comparing the data from males (above) and females (below)?
- Preference for Track 7 ('PopElectro') in females relative to males.
- Preference for Track 5 ('HipHop') in males relative to females.
- Females seem more willing to work to Track 6 ('Pads'), and enjoy them more.
- Males seem willing to work to Track 3 ('Electronic') even though they don't enjoy it very much.
- Preference for Track 7 ('PopElectro') in females relative to males.
- Preference for Track 5 ('HipHop') in males relative to females.
- Females seem more willing to work to Track 6 ('Pads'), and enjoy them more.
- Males seem willing to work to Track 3 ('Electronic') even though they don't enjoy it very much.
Demographic: Female
Demographic: Music-workers
A debriefing questionnaire after the experiment asked each participant about their music preferences and listening habits.
129/201 (64% of participants) said they usually listen to music while they work.
How does our data change if we look only at these people?
129/201 (64% of participants) said they usually listen to music while they work.
How does our data change if we look only at these people?
This subset of the data is broadly similar to the data from all participants.
If differences exist, they might include:
- Preference for working to Track 3 ('Electronic') relative to non-music-working participants.
- Disinclination to work to Track 4 ('Folk') relative to non-music-working participants.
If differences exist, they might include:
- Preference for working to Track 3 ('Electronic') relative to non-music-working participants.
- Disinclination to work to Track 4 ('Folk') relative to non-music-working participants.
Understanding variability
Estimating the mean ratings for each track (and knowing the error around those estimates) can tell us only part of the story.
We can also look at how the ratings are distributed within each track.
Here are the ratings distributions for Tracks 6, 7, and 8.
We can also look at how the ratings are distributed within each track.
Here are the ratings distributions for Tracks 6, 7, and 8.
What do these distributions show?
- People disagree on whether Track 6 ('Pads') would make good work music.
- Opinion varies widely on the enjoyability of Track 7 ('PopElectro'), but a good chunk of people love it!
- People agree that Track 8 ('Postrock') makes pretty good (but not great) work music.
- People disagree on whether Track 6 ('Pads') would make good work music.
- Opinion varies widely on the enjoyability of Track 7 ('PopElectro'), but a good chunk of people love it!
- People agree that Track 8 ('Postrock') makes pretty good (but not great) work music.