SPEECH CHARACTERISTICS AS INDICES OF ATTITUDE, MOOD, AND MOTIVATIONAL STATE
Abstract
The results of fourteen years of prior research suggested that such objective speech measures as frequency and duration of interviewee (1) utterance, and (2) reaction time latency had considerable potential as indices of underlying attitudinal, mood, and motivational state and thus could further our study of personality functioning. The research design utilized 40 Ss instructed to lie to the interviewer in one period (years of education completed) of a three-period interview and 40 control Ss who were not instructed to lie. The results revealed the surprising finding that both the speech and silence measures were highly sensitive to one content topic (Education) in all 80 of these college student Ss, relative to the two other content topics (Family, and Occupational Background). Thus the fact they were all educationally involved college students (both control and experimental Ss) appeared to be such a potent and salient factor that (equal with the findings in the experimental group) this salient factor revealed itself even in the control group by showing itself in (1) a significantly shorter reaction time and (2) a significantly longer average duration of utterance. Studies being conducted and planned for future years will capitalize on this unexpected but welcome finding of topic-saliency ('education' in college Ss) in speech behavior.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 19, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0669830
Entities
People
- Joseph D. Matarazzo
Organizations
- University of Oregon