Stress Levels Detected In Human Voice

Research Study On Stress Level
Detected in the Human Voice

The University of Florida in Gainesville has been researching how the human voice changes in major ways under stress. While we may all suspect this or know this, the research is reported as a major break through, as one day it could be used to detect deception.

One surprise though in the research was that men and women respond differently to the same stressors. Originally, they were not going to test for differences between men and women, but decided to analyze the results separately. The expectation of the researchers before the study was that the results would be about the same between men and women.

The study used people from the community or local religious groups who were strongly associated with a group identity. Statements that were deceptive and truth based were recorded and used along with a threat that the results would be shown to fellow participants for judgement. Electric shock was also used to increase the stress load.