Citizen Science Spotlight: Project Soothe

This week’s blog post is a Citizen Science Spotlight written by one of our summer high school interns Jay Garg!

Navigating the internet can be a daunting task even under the best of circumstances — when one knows exactly what they’re looking for and where to find it. In this particular instance, challenged to scour the depths of the internet for a new, creative, and interesting citizen science project to comment on… well, my stress levels were rising.

Fortunately, just a few moments of frantic google searches later, I stumbled upon one such citizen science project that promised that captivating intellectual aspect while also providing a boost for my emotional-spiritual wellbeing.

About Project Soothe

Project Soothe is a citizen science research endeavor being conducted by a team of clinical and developmental psychologists. Based at the University of Edinburgh and Anglia Ruskin University under the supervision of Dr. Stella Chan of the University of Edinburgh, the Project Soothe team is interested in the effects of certain images on human emotions, and more specifically, on how some images can engender a sense of calm or peacefulness.

Thanks to funding from the British Academy, University of Edinburgh, and Leverhulme Trust, Project Soothe is currently up and running, gathering data from citizen scientists all over the world!

Why does this matter?

There exists a plethora of evidence to prove that self-compassion, decreased stress levels, and feelings of happiness, contentedness, and relaxation are associated with positive health and productivity benefits. However, relatively few studies examine the variety of methods people can utilize to achieve that harmonious state-of-being.

By taking the first of many steps to fill that void, Project Soothe hopes to answer two questions: (1) How is the feeling of soothe understood? (2) How is the feeling of soothe cultivated in everyday life contexts? In doing so, the research team aims to provide everyone with simple ways to de-stress and access the positive health benefits of doing so, as well as to spark new research into the roles of nature, gender, and solitude on the feeling of soothe.

How does Project Soothe work?

In order to gain their data points, the research team behind Project Soothe asks for volunteers to send in photos they find relaxing, and then uploads them into small sets of about 25 each onto their website. From there, other volunteers can go through and rate each picture based on how relaxed, excited, and anxious they feel while looking at the photo.

Furthermore, participants are asked to fill out a survey asking how they are feeling before viewing the photos, which is later compared to an identical survey completed after viewing the photos. In this way, the researchers hope to pinpoint what makes a picture relaxing, and whether it has a significant effect on the moods of everyday people.

Results?

While the project is still ongoing, preliminary results show that externally presented soothing images have both a significant and positive effect on the relaxation levels of subjects.

Furthermore, other research by the staff at Project Soothe has shown that the effects of externally presented soothing images is far more salient than the effects of mentally generated soothing images on emotions and moods, validating the idea that looking at relaxing images may have therapeutic value.

Finally, the team observed that neither depressive symptoms nor emotion regulation scores influenced mood changes; the positive effects were consistent no matter what the starting mood of the participant.

How can I participate?

The first phase of pictures for Project Soothe is almost completed, but they do still need more citizen scientists to help wrap up! By following this link to their website, one can help rate pictures from the sets that aren’t yet completed, or submit new photos for future sets, furthering this valuable research.