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Deviation in Voice Pitch as a Measure of Physiological Stress Response to Group Processes

Catherine J. Taylor

Laura Freeman

Daniel Olguin Olguin

Taemie Kim

Advances in Group Processes

ISBN: 978-1-78635-042-8, eISBN: 978-1-78635-041-1

Publication date: 13 July 2016

Abstract

Purpose

In this project, we propose and test a new device – wearable sociometric badges containing small microphones – as a low-cost and relatively unobtrusive tool for measuring stress response to group processes. Specifically, we investigate whether voice pitch, measured using the microphone of the sociometric badge, is associated with physiological stress response to group processes.

Methodology

We collect data in a laboratory setting using participants engaged in two types of small-group interactions: a social interaction and a problem-solving task. We examine the association between voice pitch (measured by fundamental frequency of the participant’s speech) and physiological stress response (measured using salivary cortisol) in these two types of small-group interactions.

Findings

We find that in the social task, participants who exhibit a stress response have a statistically significant greater deviation in voice pitch (from their overall average voice pitch) than those who do not exhibit a stress response. In the problem-solving task, participants who exhibit a stress response also have a greater deviation in voice pitch than those who do not exhibit a stress response, however, in this case, the results are only marginally significant. In both tasks, among participants who exhibited a stress response, we find a statistically significant correlation between physiological stress response and deviation in voice pitch.

Practical and research implications

We conclude that wearable microphones have the potential to serve as cheap and unobtrusive tools for measuring stress response to group processes.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Alex “Sandy” Pentland and his research group at the MIT Media Lab for providing the sociometric badges used in this study. We also thank 54 undergraduate research assistants at Cornell University and Heather McLinn for invaluable assistance with data collection and research assistance, Chris Cameron for his helpful advice in developing the badge protocol, and Brian Powell and an anonymous reviewer for helpful feedback. We also thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars program for its financial support. Financial support for this research was also provided by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Center for the Study of Inequality at Cornell University.

Citation

Taylor, C.J., Freeman, L., Olguin Olguin, D. and Kim, T. (2016), "Deviation in Voice Pitch as a Measure of Physiological Stress Response to Group Processes", Advances in Group Processes (Advances in Group Processes, Vol. 33), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 211-242. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0882-614520160000033008

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited