Brony Study Analysis

Zachary Hayslip
Mass Comm 3380

Secondary Analysis Purpose
 Due to the overall length of the Brony Study covering
the psychological and sociological nuances of what
Bronies are, this analysis will focus primarily on if the
findings reflect reality or not.
 Also, we will look at the methodology of the
continuing Brony Study itself.
Secondary Analysis: using preexisting data and references in analyzing the methodology of a
research project (Wimmer 19, further detail Wimmer 119)

The Researchers
 Patrick Edwards, Ph.D.
 Dr. Psych Ology to other Bronies
 Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University of
Georgia
 Teaches and trains Researchers and Clinicians at
the Master degree level
 Marsha H. Redden, Ph.D.
 Dr. Sci Entific to other Bronies
 Ph. D. from Louisiana State University, 1973
 Has taught classes which include research design
and methodology, as well as psychological testing
 Member of American Psychological Association
 Licensed doctor in Louisiana and South Carolina
Art by Will EdwardsQuoted from Bronystudy.com

The Study’s Goals
 Describe the Brony Community (Fandom)
 Contrast the Bronies versus the Non-Bronies on
demographic and personality variables
 Provide information that might confirm or disconfirm
myths/beliefs about the Brony Community (Fandom)
 Look for Types of Bronies and differences between
these Types
Quoted from Bronystudy.com
Art by Will Edwards

Pony Survey One Methodology
 Comparison of Bronies and non-Bronies
 Surveyed 648 Subjects
 Reported 8x more Bronies responded than non-Bronies
 Used Yoked Control Group due to lack of respondents
 Focused on who Bronies are by psychologically and
sociologically comparing them to non-Bronies
Yoked Control Group: “Each member of the control group is matched or "yoked" to a member of the
experimental group so that, for the groups as a whole, the time spent participating or the types of
events encountered is kept constant. A specific research example will clarify the concept.”
Quoted From Research In Psychology: Methods and Design By C. James Goodwin

Pony Survey One Methodology
 An analytical survey consisting of close-ended questions
regarding demographics, Brony fandom, moral values,
effects the has had on the respondent, etc. utilizing Likert
scales
 Data is used in attempting to define “Brony”
and discover what it means to be one
 Conducted online powered by the
Vovici Corp.
 Are being followed up by two subsequent surveys
Sleepy Skies by enigmatia
Analytical Survey: a survey which attempts to answer why situations exist. (Wimmer 185)
Likert Scale: measures respondents opinions on a scale of agreement or disagreement (Wimmer 55-56)

Brony Survey One Demographics
 Age 1
 14 to 57 years old
 Average 21 years old
 Gender
 86% Male
 Education
 35.2% High School
 62% In or had
completed college
 Location:
 69% North America
 22% European
 5% Australian
 Employment
 Both full- and part-time
 70% students
 37% Employment
1 Due to IRB consideration only subjects who were 17 years of age or older were used in the following
analyses – Quoted from Bronystudy.com

Brony Survey One Demographics
 Sexual Orientation
 84% Heterosexual
 1.7% Homosexual
 10.3% Bisexual
 3.8% Asexual
 Marital Status
 96.4% Single
 2.9% Married
 Dating
 22.4% No interest in dating
 60.9% Interested but not
dating
 10.5% Occasionally date
 6.3% Frequently date

Brony Survey One Findings
 Many negative Brony myths and
stereotypes of being unemployed
or gay are not withstanding
 Reportedly, using chi-squares, no
significant differences in relation
to education, geographic location,
employment, or sexual
orientation were found, but
dating habits did differ
Twilight Hits the Books by dm29Chi-Square Statistic: observed measurements set against
expected frequencies; also known as crosstabs (Wimmer 308-309)

Hypotheses
 First Hypothesis
 The Brony demographic of viewers
watching My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic affects the
production of the show itself,
acknowledging its audience of a
growing, unintended male
demographic.
 Second Hypothesis
 Due to the average age of this
demographic, Brony culture
currently bears a profound effect
on the Internet culture of today
with creatives producing new fan-
content every day.
Creatives: producers of content through various media; not necessarily professional
Spitfire Reading by SpitfireBlaze

Research Questions
 First Research Question
 Does the lack of a large sample size invalidate the data of
the first survey?
 Second Research Question
 Does the Brony demographic have a substantial effect on
the show’s ratings?
 Third Research Question
 Is the reality of fandom of My Little
Pony Friendship is Magic reflected
in online fan-created content?
Derpy Hooves from Equestriadaily.com

State of the Herd Census 2012
 Online survey conducted by
Coder Brony to find out how many
Bronies there are worldwide
 Over 9,000 Brony respondents
worldwide reporting their locations, if
they’ve gone Public about being a Brony,
favorite characters, etc.
 Constructed graphs and charts of
demographical information of Bronies
From herdcensus.com

 Informal study not conducted by
professional researchers
 Contains data only from Bronies
pulled in from advertising amongst
other Bronies on Equestriadaily.com
 Contains data from those younger
than 17 years of age
(as opposed to Bronystudy.com)
From herdcensus.com

From herdcensus.com

Literature Review
 External Validity is found in comparing the data from both
Bronystudy.com and herdcensus.com
 Age relatively the same, factoring
in younger ages from Herd Census
 Brony gender percentage is
essentially equal in both studies
 Education level relatively the
same factoring in younger ages
from Herd Census
 Marital status is also the same
Oh, Flutterexploitable! by SorcerusHorserus
External Validity: how well results can be generalized by other studies and validated (Wimmer 31)

Brony Survey Reliability
 To further analyze Brony fandom, Bronystudy.com has recently
completed their second survey of Bronies and have opened their
third
 Data still being analyzed
from second survey
 Subsequent data focuses
more on Bronies alone
rather than Brony and
non-Bronies
 Reliability has yet to be
established
Load, You Piece of Crap Looooad by Unknown
Reliability: able to reproduce the same findings in different situations and studies

Further Analysis of Cultural Effects
 By looking further into the Brony Phenomenon, one
can use data analysis from searching the Internet to
validate other information regarding the popularity of
the show both in hard ratings facts and other, less
scientific means
MLP Thinking with Portals: Trust and Cooperation
by Yudhaikeledai (Flash movie)

Reflection in Television Ratings
 A Canterlot Wedding Neilsen Daypart
 “The first episode earned year-to-year
delivery gains among … Adults 18-49
(+102%, 95,000), Persons 2+ (+369%,
483,000) and Households (+286%,
363,000)”
 “The second episode earned year-to-year
delivery gains among … Adults 18-49
(+46%, 104,000), Persons 2+ (+157%,
475,000) and Households (+130%,
341,000).”
 Only time ratings were higher on The
Hub Network was during an all-day
My Little Pony Marathon
The Unveiling by Killryde
Daypart: a given period of a television broadcast day (Wimmer 357)

Reflection in Television Ratings
 A Canterlot Wedding Neilsen Ratings
 Does not reflect time-shifted
viewings through DVR, Youtube,
iTunes, Netflix and other media
 Significant due to time-shifted
viewing of shows is growing in
popularity among the young
adults
(reflective of average Brony age)
 Further study should be done in
time-shifted markets to determine
older demographic significance Duel of the Fates by EmeraldPony

Brony Effects on the Show Itself
 Like many other cartoons,
references and gags are
inserted into the show to also
entertain adults watching
with their families
 The creators of have
acknowledged and embraced
its Brony fan-base, including
references sparked by fandom
Retrieved from Listal.com

Our Little Derpy
 Derpy Hooves, a fan favorite, was a mistake
 Fandom originates from a 4chan.org post reporting a
background pony with a certain derpy looking face.
From Derpy Hooves Wikia Page and 4chan.org
Derp: Internet-slang for stupid comment or action

Our Little Derpy
 Can be linked to origins of the
Brony fandom
 Due to positive fan response,
Derpy Hooves began appearing
in episodes with a “Where’s
Waldo” effect, making brief,
hidden cameos
 Appeared with voice lines in
season 2, episode 14
The Last Roundup
From Knowyourmeme.com
From My Little Pony Wikia Page

Discord and Star Trek
 Discord, the evil master of chaos
and disharmony
 A major villain featured in the first
two episodes of the second season
of My Little Pony: Friendship is
Magic
 Known for his silly antics and
outlandish randomness
Discord enjoying a milk glass
Retrieved from rabbithutchiscalling.blogspot.com
Discord by slifertheskydragon

Discord and Star Trek
 Discord character based off Q from Star
Trek: The Next Generation
 John de Lancie, who played Q, agreed to
the voice acting role not knowing it was
for the show
 Fan recognition and response to his voice
presence eventually brought de Lancie
himself into the Brony Herd
 Is working on a Bronycon documentary,
bringing attention to the Brony fandom
From Startrekfan.net
de Lancie showing off his Brony T-shirt at Bronycon 2012 from Youtube.com

Other Cameos and References
The Big Lebowski Ponies
Retrieved from
ladygeekgirl.wordpress.com
Dr. Whooves in episode 15 of season 2
Retrieved from equestriabr.com

Other Cameos and References
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Retrieved from impassionedcinema.com
Daring-Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone
Retrieved from Equestriadaily.com

Relevance to Brony
 These cameos may have
appeared to add references for
parents to enjoy, regardless of
Brony influence
 However, it can be argued
producers may be more inclined
to add such referential material
to acknowledge their fan-base
 More research is needed to
directly correlate references to
older generation fandom
Popular background ponies
Retrieved from social.bioware.com

Bronies on the Internet
 My Little Pony fan-art,
fan-fiction, fan-videos,
fan-merchandise,fan-etc. can be
found all over the Internet
 396,785 results on Deviantart for
search term “MLP”
Luna in Moonlight by UnknownHardcore Aren T Easy Unless They Re Brony But I Ll by Unknown
Fallen Fluttershy by Heretic of Doom

 Super Ponybeat
 Free downloadable fan
remix of My Little Pony
music
 Lauren Faustacorn
 Fan-merchandise Sold
on Ebay for $1,324.99
Lauren Faustacorn by WhiteDove-CreationsSuper Ponybeat Vol 1 ALTERNATE by eurobeat Brony

 Sunset Chronicle
 Fan-fiction by Ciroton
 MLP Fighting is Magic
 Alpha-stage freeware
fighting fan-game
Retrieved from Youtube.comRetrieved from Equestriadaily.com

 Equestriadaily.com is the main fan-site for all things
related to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
 As the name suggests, this site updates daily, this is its
current banner

 Internet searches for fan-created content reflects the
presence of a large group of online creatives producing
pony-related material everyday
 Ponies have also become an
Internet meme and continue
to pervade many parts of the
Internet, for better or
worse
Valve Co-Founder and “Professional Troll” Gabe Newell with Celestia Retrieved from ScrewAttack.com

Method of Authority
 Using the presence of My
Little Pony: Frienship is
Magic fan-made content on
the Internet as a basis for
authority, the show’s
profound effect on Internet
culture quickly becomes
apparent with hundreds of
thousands of hits from all
over the Internet in a wide
variety of different forms
Rainbow Dash of the Mane 6 by mauroz
Method of Authority: something is true based on a
trusted source

Conclusions – First Hypothesis
 There is a definite correlation
between Brony fandom and
the character of Derpy
Hooves in the show
 However, correlation between
references to other media ,
such as the Big Lebowski and
Indiana Jones, and Brony
fandom is inconclusive Retrieved from Equestrialdaily.com

Conclusions – Second Hypothesis
 The presence of My Little
Pony: Friendship is Magic fan-
created content throughout
the web suggests a strong
older following of the show
 Therefore, it can be stated that
creatives inspired by the show
to create content have a
significant impact on Internet
culture
Airship Sovereignity! By Cyberdrace
Know When to Fold 'Em By harwicks-art

Conclusions – Research Questions
 First Research Question
 When comparing both Bronystudy.com and Herdcensus.com,
findings for both studies conveyed the same information
 Therefore, the researched demographics of Bronies have
proven to bear validity and reliability, though what exactly
constitutes a Brony has yet to be defined
 Second Research Question
 Neilsen dayparts revealed a significant increase in television
ratings for the HUB network in relation to the show
 However, due to lack of data on time-shifted viewings, a
popular medium for the average age of Bronies (21 years old),
the effect is inconclusive and more research must be done

Conclusions – Research Questions
 Third Research Quesion
 Relating back to the Second Hypothesis, due to a wealth of
fan-created content all over the Internet, effects of Brony fandom
can be felt in Internet culture
 Therefore, the presence of a large, worldwide fanbase can be seen by
the presence of diverse fan-made content all over the Web
My Little Pony Dragon Mod for Elders Scrolls V: Skyrim
Retrieved from Ponyvillegazette.com

The Brony Study
A Surface Look at the Study
Thank you for your time

Brony Study Analysis

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