Heart Experimental Investigation

Heart Experimental Investigation Write Up

Guiding Question

Does the brightness of the environment affect a person’s heart rate while watching a jump-scare video?

Introduction

If a subject watches a jumpscare video in a dark or light environment, there will be no difference on the heart rate. The circulatory system is in charge of bringing oxygen to the rest of the body, including the heart. A person’s heart rate is correlated to homeostasis, where it is affected based on the environment a person is in. In a jumpscare video, a subject is to watch a sudden change in image co-occurring with loud music often found in many horror clips. Humans have evolved a reflex, where watching a sudden change in image inflicts a fight or flight response. This

First, we tested the dark environment, so place the subject into a dark room, away from safety hazards. Then, before starting the experiment, count his resting heart rate, as this will be constant throughout the experiment. Start the video after calculating his resting heart rate, as as soon the scare happens, immediately count his heart rate. After that, allow the subject to calm down to resting heart rate, and repeat the same procedure, except using a different environment or video. To save time, each video will be approximately 30 seconds. This will be strictly enforced to prevent any potential alterations to

We found his resting heart rate to be 60 beats per minute, and we kept that constant. In trial one, the dark environment caused Adharsh’s heart rate to increase to 75 beats per minute, and the light environment caused his heart rate to increase to 80 beats per minute. In trial two, we saw Adharsh’s heart rate increase to 80 beats per minute for both the dark and light environment. Therefore based off the results, we saw the jumpscare video did cause a sudden raise in heart rate, but there was no difference in heart rate between the two different environment. During the scare, Adharsh’s body experienced the fight or flight response, causing the heart rate of the body to increase as a response to danger, in order to allow for more oxygen to flow through the body to escape. However, the same response was found in each trial, causing the body to experience the same effect. The test did not include anxiety of the subject, the build up of heart rate during the test, in which the dark environment may have caused that anxiety. The effect was the same, and therefore the after heart rate became about the