Sounds effects on measurable signs of stress in a framework of terrorist attacks

This topic submitted by Marissa Grier, Adam Haigh, Susie Quilligan, Aaron Schielke (adamhaigh@hotmail.com) at 11:58 pm on 10/8/01. Additions were last made on Friday, April 19, 2002. Section: Myers

Marissa Grier
Adam Haigh
Susie Quilligan
Aaron Schielke

Abstract:

In this experiment our goal is to find out the different effects audio and sound play on
stress. By doing this we test subjects using an approximately 24 minute clip of terrorist
acts. Some of the clip will have sound, and other parts would not. Then we measure the
amount of stress that the individual experiences.

Hypothesis:

Our hypothesis is that if we test numerous amounts of people using our 24-minute
clip of terrorist attacks, then we will find a significant variance in the amount of stress if
the sound is present then when the sound is not. To find the amount of stress we measure the breathing rate and the heart rate of each individual. According to out predictions, when the sound is present the heart rate and the breathing rate will increase. When the sound is not present, then the heart rate and breathing rate will decrease. If the sound is more dramatized with audible screams and loud destructions, then the breathing rate and heart rate will increase even more. In general, we feel that if we increase the realness of our clip including sounds of panic and fear, then the audience observing this will also experience some panic and anxiety based upon the realism of the clip.

Introduction:

In developing our methods, we referred to previous studies that examined the physiological reactions of viewers to filmed violence.
Shintaro and Fujio (1998) studied the effects of filmed violence on viewer’s affect, thoughts, and physiological reactions. Eighty normal male and female Japanese adults (aged 18-25 years old) viewed 1 of 4 violent films with rated levels of violence and entertainment. Immediately afterwards, the subjects described their thoughts during film viewing, and they rated their affective reactions towards the film. Heart rate and eye-blink rate were measured continuously before, during, and after film viewing,
In her study, Titus (1999) had subjects fill out a questionnaire assessing various personal traits and their beliefs about aggression. All subjects then viewed three film clips: a provocation clip, a violent clip, and a “justified” violent clip. After each clip, the subjects filled out a questionnaire asking them to rate specific emotional reactions (e.g., anger, anxiety, amusement). Physiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance, and finger temperature) and facial expressions were recorded throughout the film viewing. After viewing the clips, subjects filled out a questionnaire assessing their exposure to violence both in real life and in the media. Subjects were then classified as having high or low ‘anxious arousal’ in response to the violent films.
Koukounas and McCabe (2001) assessed gender differences in emotional responses to violent film. Both subjective emotional response and eye blink startle magnitude were assessed while twenty men (mean age being 22.7 years) and twenty women (mean age 30.1 years) viewed a series of five violent film segments and five nature scenes. The subjects exhibited higher levels of curiosity, anxiety, disgust, and anger, and lower levels of positive emotion and boredom, in response to the violent film segments in comparison with the nature material. Startle response was magnified during the violent film segments, indicating an aversive response. Men experiencing greater positive feelings, entertainment, and curiosity in relation to the violent film demonstrated evidence that men and woman responded to violence differently, whereas women reported more disgust, boredom, and anger, and experienced greater startle in relation to the violent scenes portrayed in the film.
Reeves, Lang, Kim, and Tatar (1999) assessed viewer’s attention and arousal in response to three different size screens (56-inch, 13-inch, and 2-inch picture heights). Viewers responded to video images from television and film that displayed different emotions. A total of sixty video segments were shown. Attention was measured by heart rate deceleration in response to the onset of pictures, and arousal was measured by skin conductance during aggregated during viewing.

Methods:

We plan to compile a 24-minute movie, which will be divided into 4-minute sections. For approximately half of the sampled population the 1st, 3rd, and 5th segments will be silent, with the 2nd segment being accompanied by music, the 4th by speech, and the 6th by action sounds. We plan to test the effects of each of these audio accompaniments on the physical manifestations of stress, namely breath-rate and heart rate. One concern, which we had, was that it might be the content of the video that was causing stress and not the audio. In order to take this into account the second half of the sampled population would be shown the same video but this time the 2nd, 4th, and 6th segments would be silent, and the 1st, 3rd, and 5th segments will be accompanied by music, speech, and action sounds. We hope to find that the addition of audio to the silent video will increase the stress upon which the subjects are placed. And that music, speech, and action sounds produce different amounts of stress for the subjects. The audio in all three of these cases for both groups sampled will not be designed to compliment the video in any way as to insure the stress we measure is due to the audio alone. We were also concerned with subjects who may have seen the terrorist acts that we will show before; they may therefore have acquired a kind of emotional fatigue associated with these images, which could render our test invalid. Therefore we are planning to use a range of footage from not only these most recent terrorist acts but also ones from around the world and throughout the century.

Data Sheet

Name
Age
Major
Gender
Political Affiliation (if any)

Periods Of Video(Compellation of coverage of terrorist acts)
Track
1st music 2nd none 3rd word 4th none 5th chaos 6th none
1st none 2nd music 3rd none 4th word 5th none 6th chaos
Number of Blinks
Looking away
Average Heart Rate

Results:

Our results will compare the stress levels of audio as opposed to visual effects on the viewer. We will collate our information into charts: frequency diagrams (bar charts) with results of hopefully normal distribution. We also could possibly use scatter-grams to determine a correlation of coefficient in order to show where the majority of results lay. The correlation will visually express the basic trend in data between the levels of each individual’s stress response. These charts will record the stress-level response according to the four categories (our variables): heart rate, blinking, looking-away and breath-rate.
We can incorporate the P-value into our results because there definitely will be that probability that some of the statistical results could be explained by chance alone, especially since this correlates with a random survey study. We hope the p-value will prove significant. We also hope to see a variance between the visual traumas as opposed to the audio so that we can gain results that are conclusive to our hypothesis. The higher variance between the recorded stress levels of audio vs. visual will prove stronger accuracy.

References:

Emotional responses to filmed violence and the eye blink startle response: A preliminary investigation. Koukounas, Eric; McCabe, Marita P. "Journal of Interpersonal Violence" Vol 16(5) 2001 p.476-488 Saga Publications Inc, US.

The effects of media violence and aggression: Focus on the role of anger evoked by provocation. Yukawa, Shintaro; Endo, Kimihisa; Yoshida, Fujio. "Japanese Journal of Psychology" Vol 72(1) 2001 p.1-9 Japanese Psychological Assn., Japan.

The effect of media violence on aggression: Is aggressive behavior meditated by aggressive cognitions and emotions?. Yukawa, Shintaro; Yoshida, Fujio. Japanese Journal of Psychology" Vol 70 (2) 1999 p.94-103 Japanese Psychological Assn., Japan.

The effects of media violence on affective, cognitive, and physiological reactions of viewers. Yukawa, Shintaro; Yoshida, Fujio. "Japanese Journal of Psychology" Vol 69(2) 1998 p.89-96 Japanese Psychological Assn., Japan.

The effects of screen size and message content on attention and arousal. Reeves, Byron; Lang, Annie; Kim, Eun Young; Tator, Deborah. "Media Psychology" Vol 1(1) 1999 p.49-67 Lawrence Erbaum Associates, US.

The role of negative emotions in the media-aggression relations. Titus, Jessica Moise. "Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences" Vol 60(5-A) 1999 p.1380 University Microfilms, International, US.

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