A Description and Analysis of the Operation and Validity of the Psychological Stress Evaluator

Abstract

A detailed description and analysis are presented of the psychological stress evaluator (PSE), an instrument purported to measure accurately and to portray graphically differential levels of stress in human speech. In addition, two studies are presented that attempt to validate this instrument against better known measures of stress or A-state anxiety. The PSE measures were compared with heart rate and State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) A-state scores obtained under conditions where the level of stress was experimentally manipulated through threat of shock or the presentation of taboo words. The first study revealed that PSE, STAI, and heart rate measures accurately reflect different levels of stress and are significantly correlated with one another. The second study failed to replicate the validity of the PSE. This failure to replicate is attributed to lower levels of induced stress and a reduction in baseline measures of stress.

The relationship between traits optimism and anxiety and health-related quality of life in patients hospitalized for chronic diseases: data from the SATISQOL study

“…He characterized trait anxiety as relatively stable individual differences in the tendency towards anxiety [14]. This tendency would be consistent according to different types of stressful situations and would be stable over time [14,15]. …”

Stress and Deception in Speech: Evaluating Layered Voice Analysis*

“…In fact, a significant number of commercial “voice stress analysis” (VSA) systems have been brought to market but, to date, attempts to verify their efficacy have not been very successful. While a few authors suggest that these devices might possibly detect deception‐related psychological stress, at least in certain circumstances (38–41), most research has not supported this position (31,34,35,37,42–44). A recent review of this literature is included in the National Research Council’s 2003 report on the polygraph and other methods of deception detection and credibility assessment, entitled “The Polygraph and Lie Detection.” The scientific panel concluded that “Overall, this research and the few controlled tests conducted over the past decade offer little or no scientific basis for the use of the computer voice stress analyzer or similar voice measurement instruments as an alternative to the polygraph for the detection of deception.…”

“…In fact, a significant number of commercial ''voice stress analysis'' (VSA) systems have been brought to market but, to date, attempts to verify their efficacy have not been very successful. While a few authors suggest that these devices might possibly detect deceptionrelated psychological stress, at least in certain circumstances (38)(39)(40)(41), most research has not supported this position (31,34,35,37,(42)(43)(44). A recent review of this literature is included in the National Research Council's 2003 report on the polygraph and other methods of deception detection and credibility assessment, entitled ''The Polygraph and Lie Detection.''…”

Using Analysis of Speech and Linguistics to Characterize Uncertainty in Radiology Reporting

“…The premise for this application lies in the longstanding use of voice stress analysis (VSA) for lie detection [16][17][18]. The theory behind this application is that deception will elicit physiologic changes in speech, which can be objectively identified through computerized speech analysis [19][20][21][22].…”