Vocal tremor and psychological stress.
This study examines vocal tremor and its decrease in high versus low experimentally induced stress situations. We have analyzed the Amplitude Tremor Intensity Index (ATRI) and Frequency Tremor Intensity Index (FTRI) from the prolongation of vowel /a/ for approximately 5 seconds, under baseline conditions and under 3 different test conditions (reading of tongue twister, reading of tongue twister with delayed auditory feedback [DAF], and spelling of alphabet in reverse order), in a 2-test series, with and without demanding experimental instructions (Experiments 1 and 2, respectively). Inclusion of experimental instructions was considered as making the first test situation more stressful than the second one. Our results show a significant decrease in the ATRI variable when reading a tongue twister with DAF in relation to the baseline for the first test but not in the second, which suggests a suppression or significant reduction of amplitude tremor only in high-stress situations.
Mendoza
E
E
Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada, Spain.
Carballo
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D014202:Tremor / Q000175:diagnosis*