Absorption, somewhere between the heart and the brain - An empirical investigation of absorption using qualitative and quantitative methods

Abstract

Absorption, the state of mind that is fully devoted and engaged with an attentional object, was empirically investigated using a multimethod approach including quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants (N=20) with a music education attended a classical concert and were equipped with wireless sensors measuring heart rate. Further, participants were asked to self-report after experienced absorption. Heart rate variability, a non-invasive tool for measuring the activity of the autonomic nervous systems was computed and shown to decrease significantly during instances of self-reported absorption compared to a control period, suggesting an increase in mental effort. Furthermore, the participants were interviewed before and after the concert. Five themes and 15 subthemes emerged from thematic analysis of the interviews in accordance with literature on altered states of consciousness. The self-reported instances and thematic analysis allowed for an accurate location of experienced absorption and suggest that certain compositional devices may predict absorption such as loudness, dynamic and timbral changes and harmonic tension and release.