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Anxiety and speech production: some support for the inverted U-shaped function
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|June 1, 1982
Summary
Interacting with a harmless snake increased anxiety and speech variability in participants. This suggests an inverted-U relationship between anxiety and speech production, even for those without prior snake fear.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
- Human-Animal Interaction
Background:
- Previous research suggests snake phobia is common.
- Initiating contact with snakes may induce anxiety, irrespective of self-reported fear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between snake contact, anxiety, and speech production.
- To test the hypothesis of an inverted-U relationship between anxiety and speech production.
Main Methods:
- 36 subjects interacted dyadically with a harmless snake.
- Videotapes analyzed for snake contact and speech production measures.
- Speech production scores compared between high and low snake-contact groups.
Main Results:
- Greater variability in speech production was observed in the high snake-contact group.
- This finding supports the inverted-U relationship hypothesis.
Conclusions:
- Initiating contact with snakes can elicit anxiety and affect speech production.
- Anxiety levels may influence cognitive and behavioral functions like speech, following an inverted-U pattern.