Welcome to the official site for the Brony Study. We have been studying the Brony fandom since the Fall of 2011. We would like to extend a thank you to the almost 60,000 Bronies who have participated in our series of surveys.
We are happy to report the following:
1) We will be presenting TWO panels at BronyCon 2015 in Baltimore. We hope to see you there!
2) We have signed a contract with MacFarland Press to write the long awaited 'Brony Book' (as yet untitled). We are busy working on the project and hope to release it at BronyCon 2016!
3) We have launched a new survey. It will assess the level of fan interest in Season 5 and help us to understand WHY some fans attend local Meet Up groups and others do not! This information will help us to better understand fan involvement in the fandom and provide the group admins valuable feedback which may help them improve the groups. Please help us gather this important information, it will be used in the panel presentation at BronyCon 2015 and our upcoming book. Go the the 'Take Survey' tab at the top of this page to complete the survey.
Attention all Meet Up Group ADMINS! Please visit our newly launched website which will act as a clearing house for information useful in the management of Brony Meet Up Groups. Go to the Admin Group Tab at the top of this page! ALSO watch for news about a meet up of admins at BronyCon 2015!.
2015 (like 2014) is proving to be another "Year of the Pony" with respect to Psychology Conferences!
| Bronystudy researchers at BronyCon 2014 |
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| Brony Psycholoists Griffin, Edwards, Chadborn and Redden |
1) Our two research presentations at the annual Feburary meeting of the Southeast Psychological Association in Hilton Head SC, were very well received.
2) Two of our students presented research posters at the Georgia Undergraduate Research Symposium in April.
3) We will be traveling to the Popular Culture Association meeting in Willington, NC in October where we presented a paper about the Brony Fandom.
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| Drs Edwards, Redden and Griffin watching the first episode of season 4. |
SPECIAL REQUESTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The staff of the Bronystudy are more than happy to provide interviews (phone, Skype, or in person) HOWEVER, we ask that you please give us at least 48 hour notice before expecting us to be able to meet your needs (we do have busy lives and schedules).
We have received a lot of requests concerning how to access our data and reference our work. (Apparently a large number of students are writing papers on the Brony fandom). We will be posting copies of all of the research presentations (by the end of June) along with all of the information you would need to reference our work in your papers and projects. Thank you for your patience!
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| Dr Redden at the Bronystudy poster at SEPA 2014. |
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The Bronystudy team would like to send our thoughts and prayers to Michael Morones and his family. At times likes these the fandom can act as an extended family, supporting a fallen member of the herd and each other.
Note: Go to Study Results for some preliminary results concern the level of BULLYING experienced by the fandom.
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| Jessica presenting her Bronystudy poster. |
In addition to conducting the 'How The Fandom Has Changed My Life' Survey, we have also established an email () where Bronies can send us more detailed and personalized descriptions of the impact that 'being a Brony' has had on their lives. These 'personal stories' (minus personal identification) will be used in our presentations and publications. Please consider sharing with us your personal story.
We would also like to request that if you have a parent, sibling, teacher or therapist who would be willing to send us their observation of the impact the fandom has had on their son, daughter, student or client we would VERY MUCH like to hear these stories. Please ask them to write us at the above mentioned email!
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| Dr Psych Ology looking for insights into the sometimes dark side of the fandom. |
Anyone who knows Dr Psych Ology (Dr Edwards) knows that he is NOT 'a man of few words.' He would like to thank Kurt and Jason at Research is Magic for the wide ranging interview concerning the Bronystudy and our insights into the Brony fandom. To read the 2-part interview click on the links below.
http://www.researchismagic.org/2014/04/interview-with-the-brony-studys-dr-patrick-edwards-a-k-a-dr-psych-ology-part-i/
http://www.researchismagic.org/2014/04/interview-with-the-brony-studys-dr-patrick-edwards-a-k-a-dr-psych-ology-part-ii/
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| Will at the 2012 January BronyCon in New York City. |
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| Brent Hodgee with ponies! Click on the image to see the movie trailer. |
We send out a special CONGRATULATIONS to Brent Hodgee for the successful completion of his movie 'A Brony Tale.' Drs Edwards and Redden were honored to be given a sizable role in the movie and Will Edwards was given an opportunity to take credit for planting the 'seed' that would become the Bronystudy. Check out the movie and in answer to your question... Yes, we did make pony shaped cookies, but that's a long story for another time!
The ongoing Longitudinal Study, consists of an initial long survey and than a shorter set of questions which will arrive via e-mail every 4-6 months (pre and post the new season). This study will allow us to answer questions about how the fandom is changing over time, and how the fan's relationship with the show might change over time. If you are interested in participating please review the Legalities section at the bottom of this page and than go to the Take Survey tab at the top of this page.
| Drs Edwards and Redden |
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| Studying the Herd! |
We are happy to report the addition of two student researcher assistants (Jessica and Erica) to the Bronystudy team.
Also thanks to Will Edwards for his artistic efforts at "ponyfying" Dr. Edwards (Dr Psych Ology) and Dr. Redden (Dr Sci Entific) and the creation of our "studying the herd" image!
Click HERE to see the DailyDot.com article.
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Reason for the Study:
Recently we have become aware that there is a new phenomenon emerging, primarly among adolescent and young adult males. This is an interest in the latest version of My Little Pony (MLP), a cartoon which was first introduced in 1982 with a target audience and marketing strategy directed at pre-pubescent females. The latest version of MLP, introduced in 2009 with improved graphics and story line, seems to have captured the imagination and interest of a very different audience. The cartoon and its story line, "The Magic of Friendship", have attracted a following amoung males in the population. They have labelled themselves as "Bronies", a term meaning boys who like ponies or bro ponies.
There are blogs, artwork, videos and websites devoted to Bronies. A recent commerical includes a young man who takes off his shirt to reveal MLP-like tattoo on his back. While some males are open about their interest in MLP, others are more low-key or even clandestine in their interest.
The purpose of this study is two fold:
The intial phase of the study investigated, by the use of online surveys, the response of the general population (non-Bronies) to this fan phenomenon, including initial responses too and perception of why this phenomenon is occuring, as well as several personality characterisitic that might mediate these reactions.
The second phase of the research (in the design phase) will use brief online surveys (6-8 questions) which the subjects will complete every 3-4 months. This project will allow us to look at how the fandom is changing over time.
Please be sure to return to our Bronystudy.com site in the future as we will post updates of the study results as they become available and ask for volunteers for the second phase of the study.
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Legalities
Please read the following consent statement:
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- I understand that participation in this study is voluntary and I may withdraw at any time without penalty.
- That all responses are anonymous and the researchers have no way of knowing my identity or responses.
- Any contacts with the researchers are at my discretion, but will be held as strictly confidential.
- This survey is for participants ages 18 and older.
- I am entitled to know the results of the study and they will be posted on this website when they become available.
- Please allow yourself adequate time to take the questionnaire. The survey takes 40-45 minutes.
- THE NAME BRONYSTUDY, ALL ARTWORK AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE RESEARCHERS.
If you AGREE with the above statements please proceed to the "Take the Survey" section at the top of this page.
If you DO NOT AGREE with the above statement then please return to this website in the future to learn about the study results.
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