People Testing a Soundbooth and Audio Scenarios
This is the very minimalist soundbooth I have constructed to provide an isolated environment separate from our subjective reality to allow a person to fully engage with the audio experience they will encounter while inside. It is constructed of lumber, inexpensive outdoor rugs, and black canvas fabric. The material is light, but when layered together forms a good sound barrier against noise happening outside the booth and also keeps the ambient light out which will enhance the audio experience as one’s hearing will be heightened.
Once inside the booth, a person will wear these excellent noise cancelling headphones from Bose, which really isolates the audio experience to allow a person to fully focus on the content they will be hearing. Combined with the booth, it creates an environment where a person can maximize their imagination while listening to the scenarios of experiences women face in their lives.
So far I have tested with five people; four men and one woman. All of them men felt that the physical experience of going into the booth was effective in the sense that it “transported” them to what felt like an isolating experience, and they were really able to concentrate on the audio and be introspective. On the other hand, the woman felt “a little creepy going inside.” At one point she pulled her phone out while inside to have a little bit of light. I will need to test with more people to see if the creepy feeling is pervasive and then decide if there should be a small LED light inside.
For the content, I am getting the kinds of reactions that I want. Different scenarios are resonating with different people, but they all appreciated the experience. One person commented that it “added emotional weight to how it must feel” to live through these experiences as a woman. However, even though they were able to connect with the message, they didn’t necessarily feel the vulnerability that women experience in some of the scenarios, so in that sense, I will need to find a better approach if I want men to become more empathetic for women.
