Vocal Indices of Stress: A Review

Giddens, Cheryl L.; Barron, Kirk; Byrd‐Craven, Jennifer; Clark, Keith F.; Winter, A. Scott

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.12.010

Cited by 113 publications

(151 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Even the most consistently reported finding -that voice pitch increases under stress -is often not replicated and the reason for this remains unclear (Giddens et al, 2013;Kirchhübel et al, 2011). In the present study we tested the hypothesis that inconsistencies in past work may be tied to variation in the severity of the stress response, wherein voice changes may be observed predominantly among participants whose stress responses exceed a critical threshold.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Indeed, an increase in voice pitch is the longest and most commonly reported finding in previous studies examining speech under stress (reviewed in Giddens et al, 2013;Kirchhübel et al, 2011). However, many studies have failed to replicate this finding (e.g., Dietrich and Abbott, 2012;Hecker et al, 1968;Johannes et al, 2000;Streeter et al, 1983;Tolkmitt and Scherer, 1986;Van Lierde et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Studies examining the acoustic correlates of stress have produced widely mixed results (reviewed in Giddens et al, 2013;Kirchhübel et al, 2011). In large part these inconsistencies stem from differences in how stress is defined (Murray et al, 1996), difficulties related to inducing and measuring genuine stress responses in the laboratory (Berger et al, 1987;Kudielka and Kirschbaum, 2005;Ruiz et al, 1996;Scherer, 1979;Tolkmitt and Scherer, 1986), and substantial variation in the magnitude of the stress response across individuals (Berger et al, 1987;Johannes et al, 2000;Kudielka et al, 2007;Streeter et al, 1983).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The capacity to control for variation in speech under stress will therefore increase the extent to which voice recognition and activation technology can be effectively utilized (Hansen, 1996). This research also offers the possibility of accurately detecting stress from the voice signal alone, a vital tool when monitoring the psychological states of pilots, astronauts, military personnel, long-haul drivers, medical professionals, or for forensic analysis and criminal profiling (Giddens et al, 2013). However, in order to identify reliable vocal markers of stress, it will be necessary to first remedy the problems of defining stress, standardizing methodologies used to elicit or measure stress, and controlling for individual differences in the stress response.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Individual differences in cortisol stress response predict increases in voice pitch during exam stress

Pisanski

Nowak

Sorokowski

2016

Physiology & Behavior

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Despite a long history of empirical research, the potential vocal markers of stress remain unclear. Previous studies examining speech under stress most consistently report an increase in voice pitch (the acoustic correlate of fundamental frequency, F0), however numerous studies have failed to replicate this finding. In the present study we tested the prediction that these inconsistencies are tied to variation in the severity of the stress response, wherein voice changes may be observed predominantly among individuals who show a cortisol stress response (i.e., an increase in free cortisol levels) above a critical threshold. Voice recordings and saliva samples were collected from university psychology students at baseline and immediately prior to an oral examination. Voice recordings included both read and spontaneous speech, from which we measured mean, minimum, maximum, and the standard deviation in F0. We observed an increase in mean and minimum F0 under stress in both read and spontaneous speech, whereas maximum F0 and its standard deviation showed no systematic changes under stress. Our results confirmed that free cortisol levels increased by an average of 74% (ranging from 0-270%) under stress. Critically, increases in cortisol concentrations significantly predicted increases in mean F0 under stress for both speech types, but did not predict variation in F0 at baseline. On average, stress-induced increases in voice pitch occurred only when free cortisol levels more than doubled their baseline concentrations. Our results suggest that researchers examining speech under stress should control for individual differences in the magnitude of the stress response.Keywords: speech under stress; fundamental frequency; cortisol; psychological stress; exam stress 3 Highlights• The finding that voice pitch increases under stress is often not replicated• We tested whether this is tied to variation in the severity of the stress response• Voice recordings and saliva were collected at baseline and during exam stress• Increases in cortisol levels predicted voice pitch under stress but not at baseline• Researchers examining speech under stress should control for the stress response

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Individual differences in cortisol stress response predict increases in voice pitch during exam stress

Pisanski

Nowak

Sorokowski

2016

Physiology & Behavior

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“…In most cases, this finding may be associated with the work routine of the telemarketers surveyed, who take emergency calls for serious situations that affect the community, which require attention, promptness, objectivity, and clarity; this labor category is one of the most vulnerable for the development of stress reactions (25,26) . This study also found that individuals submitted to stressful work rate present a higher mean of sensory vocal symptoms compared with those who are not subjected to such condition, corroborating previously mentioned studies (1,18,27,28) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relação entre as condições de trabalho e de voz autorreferidas por teleoperadores de uma central de emergência

Santos

Lopes

et al. 2016

CoDAS

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RESUMO Objetivo investigar se existe associação entre os sintomas vocais, a queixa vocal e as condições de trabalho e da voz autorreferidas por teleoperadores. Método participaram 72 teleoperadores, de ambos os gêneros, atuantes em uma central de atendimento em emergência. Eles responderam ao questionário que levantou dados pessoais, queixa vocal, sintomas vocais e condições de trabalho. A análise dos dados foi realizada por meio do Teste Quiquadrado, Teste exato de Fisher e do Teste Mann-Whitney. Resultados houve associação entre o grupo de teleoperadores com queixa de distúrbio da voz para os aspectos de condição de trabalho como empresa ruidosa, e para os aspectos de condição de voz: mudança na voz e faltas ao trabalho. Observaram-se diferenças entre a média de sintomas vocais auditivos para: eco na sala, mudança na voz e faltas ao trabalho, assim como se observou entre a média de sintomas vocais sensoriais dos participantes em relação às variáveis: ritmo de trabalho estressante, empresa ruidosa, barulho vindo de outras salas, eco na sala, uso do rádio, mudança na voz e faltas ao trabalho. Conclusão existe associação entre a presença de queixa vocal, o número de sintomas vocais auditivos e sensoriais e as condições de trabalho autorreferidas pelos teleoperadores pesquisados.

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What do these sounds tell us about the therapeutic alliance: Acoustic markers as predictors of alliance

Nof

Amir

Goldstein

et al. 2020

Clin Psychology and Psychoth

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Predicting the trajectories of alliance formation that the patient is likely to establish with the therapist during treatment, even before their first meeting, can help prevent the potentially harmful consequences of deterioration in alliance, such as poor outcome and premature dropout. The present study aimed to examine the ability of four pretreatment acoustic markers to predict the alliance that is likely to be formed in the course of treatment: F0 span, speech rate, pause proportion and jitter. Data from 560 observations of 38 patients were collected as part of an ongoing randomized clinical trial of short‐term psychotherapy for major depressive disorder. The acoustic markers were measured using high‐quality recordings at baseline, before the patient and therapist ever met or had any type of communication. A multilevel model was used to examine the ability of the four acoustic markers to predict the slopes of alliance formation in the course of treatment, all markers being introduced in the same model. The clinical utility of the acoustic markers was explored in two case studies. The model explained 22% of the variance in alliance formation. Higher levels of both jitter and pause proportion at baseline predicted less strengthening of the alliance in the course of treatment. The findings, which should be replicated in larger samples, suggest that much of the therapeutic alliance can be predicted based on the acoustic characteristics of the patient's voice in the first 3 min of their intake, before they even meet their therapist.

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Vocal Indices of Stress: A Review

Cited by 113 publications

References 79 publications

Individual differences in cortisol stress response predict increases in voice pitch during exam stress

Individual differences in cortisol stress response predict increases in voice pitch during exam stress

Relação entre as condições de trabalho e de voz autorreferidas por teleoperadores de uma central de emergência

What do these sounds tell us about the therapeutic alliance: Acoustic markers as predictors of alliance

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