ASMR Trigger Checklist

Interested in figuring out your tingling tendencies? Find out what auditory, visual and tactile stimuli trigger your ASMR.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | November 6, 2023

ASMR, short for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, has taken the internet by storm in recent years. It's the phenomenon where certain sounds, feelings or visuals trigger a pleasurable tingling sensation in the scalp and neck, often followed by deep relaxation. The ASMR community has grown exponentially, with countless enthusiasts seeking out their preferred triggers and enjoying the calming effects of this sensory experience.

The ASMR Trigger Checklist (ATC) is a test that lists common ASMR elicitors, and measures how likely those triggers are to set off an individual's ASMR. With strong reliability and validity, the ATC is an invaluable tool for measuring individual differences within the ASMR population.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

Below you will see a list of possible ASMR triggers. Please read each one and evaluate whether or not it would trigger your ASMR. If it is an ASMR trigger for you, then please rate how intense your ASMR experience would be (on average) when encountering those stimuli.

Step 1: Please rate intensity from 0 to 4, where 4 is the most intense ASMR experience. Select 0 if you do not experience ASMR from the trigger.

1. Physical touch on your body (both intentional and unintentional) e.g., hair play, someone brushing against you, massage.

2. Close personal attention toward you e.g., service encounters like getting checked into a hotel; attending appointments such as the hairdressers, ear cleaning; being measured; doing surveys.

3. Someone providing care for you e.g., looking after you when you're unwell, giving you positive affirmations.

4. Light touch on your face e.g., make-up application.

5. Altruistic acts toward you e.g., kind words, lending to or borrowing things from others, apologies, kind acts.

6. Blowing e.g., into your hair or your ear.

7. Eye contact e.g., with you, or someone looking very closely at an aspect of you.

8. Whispering.

9. Soft-speaking e.g., slow, soft rhythmic speaking, calm speaking, pauses, counting.

10. Timbre/pitch of voice e.g., female voices, children’s voices.

11. Certain letter sounds e.g., S, K, T, R, which could come in the form of trigger words such as “toasted coconut.”

12. Accents e.g., foreign accents.

13. Reading out loud e.g., books, magazines.

14. Mouth sounds e.g., lip smacking, humming, tongue clicking, teeth noises, breathing, eating sounds.

15. Tapping sounds e.g., nails tapping gently on hard surfaces, tapping on objects, keyboard typing.

16. Scratching sounds e.g., writing with a fountain pen.

17. Crisp, crunchy, and crinkling sounds e.g., metallic foil, crinkly clothing.

18. Page turning sounds.

19. Liquid sounds e.g., water, lotion, foam, spray bottles.

20. Solid sounds e.g., wood on wood, glass on glass, metal on metal such as scissors cutting.

21. Nature sounds e.g., rain, flowing river, wind blowing, fire crackling, leaves rustling.

22. Delicate hand movements e.g., hand strokes, tracing of objects.

23. Watching someone other than yourself being touched e.g., massage, hair brushing, cheek touch.

24. Watching someone complete a task with expertise e.g., playing a musical instrument or creating works of art such as calligraphy, painting, or sculpture.

25. Watching someone concentrate on a task e.g., cooking, someone applying their make-up.

26. Repetitive actions e.g., towel folding, coloring in.

27. "Oddly satisfying" triggers e.g., cutting soap or other solids, kinetic sand, slime or other moving liquids.

28. Having a light flashed near your face.

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores to people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.

References: Poeirio, G. L., Succi, A., Swart, T., Romei, V., & Gillmeister, H. (2023). From touch to tingles: Assessing ASMR triggers and their consistency over time with the ASMR Trigger Checklist (ATC). Consciousness and Cognition, 115(2023), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2023.103584