A stress mindset manipulation can affect speakers' articulation rate.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Speech Science

Background:

• Beliefs about stress significantly influence how individuals respond to challenging situations.
• Stress mindsets can be intentionally modified to alter perceptions of stress as either beneficial or detrimental.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a stress mindset intervention on speech production performance.
• To determine if framing stress as enhancing (stress-is-enhancing, SIE) or debilitating (stress-is-debilitating, SID) affects speech task outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Sixty participants were randomly assigned to either the SIE or SID condition, viewing a video designed to instill a specific stress mindset.
• Following the intervention, participants completed a stress mindset measure, underwent a psychological stressor task, and performed a speech production task involving tongue twisters.
• Speech errors and articulation time were quantitatively analyzed to assess performance.

Main Results:

• The stress mindset manipulation was effective, successfully altering participants' beliefs about stress.
• Participants in the SIE condition demonstrated faster articulation times compared to the SID group.
• Importantly, the increased speed in the SIE group did not result in a higher rate of speech errors.

Conclusions:

• Altering stress mindsets can directly impact physiological and cognitive performance, specifically in speech production.
• Promoting the belief that stress is an enhancing force offers a potential strategy to mitigate negative stress effects on performance.
• This intervention highlights the malleability of stress perception and its practical implications for performance enhancement.