Browsing by Author "Merkle, Simon Andreas"

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    Wearable-based study on the influence of music genre preferences on heart rate
    (2025) Merkle, Simon Andreas
    The relationship between music preferences and physiological responses is an emerging field of study with implications for wellness and personalized health. This thesis examines how individual preferences for specific music genres influence heart rate (HR) changes during music listening. Methods: A wearable-based study (n=20) was conducted using a custom mobile application, VitaBeat, that integrates smartwatch HR monitoring with Spotify data collection. The study hypothesized that participants would show smaller increases, or even decreases, in HR when listening to music genres they prefer and are accustomed to, compared to genres they do not prefer. Results: Measurements showed no statistically significant effect of genre preference on HR changes. However, the measurements showed a significant difference between liked and disliked songs. In addition, music in general showed a significant decrease in HR. Conclusion: While genre preference did not significantly influence HR, personal enjoyment of songs and music in general seemed to play a role. These findings should be interpreted in light of the study's limited sample size. The study also demonstrates the potential of wearable technology for accessible, remote physiological data collection.