The Superbowl meets social science
When biology and statistics cross paths, wonderful things transpire. Add in hard-hitting NFL action, San Francisco pizza, and a robot that serves beer, and you have the nerdiest Super Bowl party this side of the Mississippi.
Wired Magazine was kind enough to host such a party at their SOMA office, along with Boston-based Innerscope Research, who provided the gadgetry and science. This piece of technology was used on the International Space Station:
About 30 people participated in the study, which attempted to measure human vitals like skin temperature, breathing, and heart rate. The device also captured any movements during the game.
Before the game started, we were asked to fill out a few surveys about the advertising spots in this year's Superbowl. Mainly questions about if we had seen certain company's ads already, or if we had plans to purchase their products. Then, after each half, we answered how much we liked or hated each commercial.
The results of the survey will be compared with our real-time health stats from each event during the game. They tracked each commercial, as well as turning points in the game. For instance, when the Saints missed on 4th and goal, everyone's heartbeats jumped:
The guys from Innerscope Research were also watching our vitals in real time on their iPhones:
At halftime, I had the chance to ask the engineers to single out my stats. They told me talk about something that was important to me, maybe a lady friend or something. My vitals jumped:
They also kept a tally of how many beers each participant downed. You were only allowed one beer per quarter, as well as one pre-game beer. The Wired Beer Robot was doing the pouring.
After the game, I asked to see more data. They found one interesting case where the US government's 2010 census advertisement had low effect on the viewers and the Google commercial that followed it sparked the audience's interest.
Another interesting datapoint was when CBS went to a commercial right as the referees were reviewing a call. The audience's interest was so into the game, they didn't even pay attention to the advertisements.
I am sure there will be a lot more interesting data that comes out of this experiment, so keep your eyes on Wired, and this site. I will try to do a follow up if I find more details.