Music and Spider Orientation: The Jammin' Spiders Experiment
This paper reviews the 2001 "Jammin' Spiders" biology experiment conducted by Jack Feichtner and colleagues at a university in Ohio. The study examined how different types of music — specifically Bach's "Ave Maria," Peter Kruder's "Tanto Tempo," and Outkast's "Bombs Over Baghdad" — affected the positional orientation of Theridiidae spiders within controlled cylindrical environments. Over 15 days, researchers recorded spider locations using a grid-and-degree measurement system. Results suggested that spiders exposed to music with harsh, strong beats tended to orient themselves higher in their containers, while those exposed to softer music gravitated lower. The paper also addresses the experiment's limitations, unanswered questions, and methodological flaws.
- Overview and Background: Experiment goals, spider species, and hypothesis
- Experimental Design and Materials: Materials, groups, music selections, and setup
- Data Collection Methods: Grid measurement system and data recording process
- Results and Observed Trends: Orientation patterns across experimental groups
- Conclusions and Comparisons: Student conclusions and NASA study comparison
- Limitations and Unanswered Questions: Flaws, open questions, and adaptation evidence
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly situates the experiment within prior research on spider vibration sensitivity and NASA chemical studies, giving readers useful context without overextending the claims.
- It honestly acknowledges methodological weaknesses — including small sample size and imprecise data collection — which demonstrates critical thinking about the research process.
- The comparison across three distinct music genres (classical, ambient, hip-hop) provides a structured framework for interpreting behavioral differences.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper models how to critically summarize an empirical study while evaluating the validity of its conclusions. Rather than simply reporting findings, it flags the 6/4 statistical split as insufficient evidence, demonstrating the kind of skeptical engagement with source material that is central to undergraduate scientific writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a standard experimental report structure: background and hypothesis, materials and methods, data collection, results, conclusions, and limitations. Each section builds logically on the previous one, moving from design rationale through to honest self-critique. The closing note about methodological flaws functions as both a summary and an evaluative comment, giving the paper a reflective finish appropriate for a review of student-conducted research.
Overview and Background
The goal of this experiment, conducted in 2001 by Jack Feichtner et al. at a university in Ohio, was to study the effect that music has on spiders. The species chosen for the experiment was Theridiidae, and the effect under investigation was the orientation of the spider within a created, controlled environment. Prior research had revealed that spiders are sensitive to vibration for a number of survival-related reasons. Because spiders do not have very good eyesight, vibrations are used to sense prey caught in the web and to detect the presence of a potential mate.
Previous experiments had examined the effects of drugs on spider web construction. Based on this prior research, the students hypothesized that there would be a measurable pattern in how the spiders reacted to music, and that the spiders would be attracted to softer vibrations while being repelled by harsher ones.
The original design of the experiment involved studying regular house spiders within their natural environment, but the webs proved too small to evaluate without equipment that was not available, and comparative data could not be gathered easily. A revised experiment explored how spiders inhabit a given space in response to a musical stimulus. This experiment was considered significant because it related to the way in which human activity — including everyday noise such as car horns and ringing telephones — affects spider behavior.
Experimental Design and Materials
The materials used in this experiment included 20 spiders (the subjects), 20 clear cylindrical containers (the habitats), two compact disc players with speakers, three compact discs (Bach's Ave Maria, Peter Kruder's Tanto Tempo, and Outkast's Bombs Over Baghdad), crickets to feed the subjects, and a measuring mechanism to determine each spider's orientation.
The twenty spiders were organized into four groups of five spiders each. Each group was kept in a different classroom, with every spider housed inside an individual container. The climate was moderate and consistently monitored. The containers were set up in a line above the speakers that would play the music, with the exception of the control group, which was exposed to no music. Music played 24 hours a day, and once a day each spider's location within its container was recorded.
Group one was exposed to Bach's Ave Maria, chosen for its repetition of rhythm and melody with few variations in meter and beat. Group two was exposed to Peter Kruder's Tanto Tempo, chosen for its higher levels of vibration and variable beats. Group three was exposed to Outkast's Bombs Over Baghdad, chosen for its loud, steady beats and constant vocals. Group four served as the control group and received no musical stimulus. On Thursdays, each spider was fed one cricket, and consumption of the food was noted.
Data Collection Methods
Data was gathered daily for a total of 15 days, with music introduced on the seventh day. The information collected was quantitative rather than qualitative. Data collection utilized a transparency slip with a grid wrapped around each clear container, which allowed easy measurement of each spider's latitudinal location. A circle divided into degrees was placed beneath each container to measure the angular location of the spider.
The collected data were analyzed using the Stat View computer program, where multiple statistical tests were run and graphs were produced representing each spider's location within its environment at each daily reading.
Results and Observed Trends
Various trends among the groups were observed. Regarding longitudinal (angular) orientation, the trend for all groups — including the control group — remained consistent: the spiders did not tend to be drawn to any specific area of the environment in terms of angle. The pattern for the data was erratic, showing a broad trend overall but not on an individual level.
Spiders in groups two and three tended to orient themselves vertically above the five-unit mark. Spiders 14, 16, 17, and 20 represented 40% of this subset and did not exhibit the same vertical pattern. The remaining 60% of spiders in groups two and three did orient themselves above the five-unit line. However, the statistics were reversed for group one: 60% of the spiders in group one chose to dwell at or below the five-unit mark regularly.
According to established principles of animal behavior, animals often respond to environmental stimuli — such as sound and vibration — in ways that reflect threat assessment and comfort-seeking. This framework helps contextualize why spiders exposed to louder, harsher music would move away from the sound source.
Works Cited
Feichtner, J., Firestone, P., Markle, K., Smith, W., and Van Houtte, E. (2001, December 6). "Jammin' spider webs." [University], Ohio. Accessed online November 22, 2004.
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