The Effect of Auditory Distraction on the Stress-Evoked Galvanic Skin Response
Kaylin Camp, Rae’ven Crum, Christopher Leymarie, Tommy Rebraca, and Tyler Tsangaris-Braatz,
RESULTS
Professor Johanna Krontiris-Litowitz
INTRODUCTION
Environmental stimuli such images and music can have
a profound influence on an individual’s response to stress. Some studies suggest that certain
environmental stimuli can serve as distractors and may
reduce the physiological responses to stress. In this
study we examine how an auditory distraction can
influence a subject’s response to stress as measured by the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR).
SPONTANEOUS GSR EVENTS
BUZZER-EVOKED STARTLE RESPONSE
Mean Startle Peak Values for Book vs. Music
COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF
AUDIO BOOK OR MUSIC ON BASELINE GSR
15
"Rise Time" values for Startle Reflex Book vs. Music
In this project the role of auditory distraction on the
galvanic skin response was tested on 28 male and
female subjects that were 18-30 years of age. Two
auditory distractors were tested in this protocol, 1) an
8 min segment of a boring audio book, representing a
minimal auditory distraction and 2) an 8 min segment
of popular music, representing a moderate
distraction. Twenty minutes of baseline GSR data was
collected from all subjects. At the end of this period
the subjects listened to one of the auditory
distractors and were then presented with 2 stressors,
an alarm sound and a series of sensitive personal
questions. Galvanic Skin Response data was collected
using a GSR80 data acquisition system (IWORX), and
analyzed using LabScribe software (Figure 1). GSR80
electrodes were attached to the middle and index
finger of the subject’s weak hand. Galvanic skin response results were analyzed for latency, peak
response, and recovery time.
470
12
465
11
1000.00
10
460
9
455
8
7
6
5
Percent Change of Rise TIme
MATERIALS AND METHODS
13
% BASELINE
%CHANGE IN # EVENTS /MIN
14
450
445
440
4
3
435
2
430
900.00
800.00
700.00
600.00
500.00
400.00
300.00
200.00
1
Book
0
100.00
Music
0.00
Startle Peak for Book vs Music n=14 p=0.2867
Book
Music
"Rise Time" values for Book vs. Music. n=14 ,…
AUDIO BOOK SUBJECTS
MUSIC SUBJECTS
"Latency" Values for Startle Reflex Book vs. Music
Startle Half-Time Recovery (Book vs Music)
Spontaneous GSR Events at Rest Book vs. Music
1400
400
1200
Percent Change of Latency
350
300
uSiemens
Percent Change of Half-Time Recovery
255
450
250
200
150
100
50
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Book
Music
245
240
235
230
225
0
Book
250
Book
Music
Music
"Latency Values" for Book vs. Music, n=28, p=0.191709
GSR recovery values for book vs music, N=14, P= .370146
N=14 paired t-test and
p=0.129158
PROTOCOL TIMELINE
Experimental
Baseline
Equilibrium
5 min
1 min
Baseline
Equilibrium
5 min
1 min
PreStartle/
Equilibrium
Audio Book
3 min
Control
1.
2.
3.
4.
7 min
PreStartle/
Equilibrium
Listening to
Music
Startle/
Recovery
3 min
4 min
7 min
QUESTION LIST
1.
2.
3.
4.
Startle/
Recovery
4 min
Neutral questions
Is your name _______?
Are you a student at YSU?
Do you drive a car?
Do you live on campus?
Stress Questions
Have you ever cheated on a test or
paper?
Have you ever stolen something?
Have you ever done drugs?
Have you ever told a lie to keep
yourself out of trouble?
Problem
Question
Recovery
8 min
Problem
Questions/
Neutralize
8 min
GSR RECORDING OF A STARTLE RESPONSE
GSR RECORDING OF A STARTLE RESPONSE
GSR responses during question period. Responses reported as % baseline values. *=p<.05
Stress
Peak (%)
Slope(%)
Latency (%)
Recovery (%)
Questions
MUSIC * BOOK MUSIC * BOOK MUSIC *
BOOK
MUSIC *
BOOK
MEAN
STD DEV
N
Neutral
Questions
MEAN
STD DEV
N
398.03
1088.28
126.48
80.17
146.78
280.00
86.54
76.44
372.15
1059.76
1742.64
6104.99
191.94
410.86
84.13
71.31
56(%)
Peak
55
56
Slope(%)
55
56 (%)
Latency
55
56 (%)
Recovery
55
MUSIC *
BOOK
MUSIC *
BOOK
MUSIC *
BOOK
293.32
711.59
56
172.11
463.88
55
297.28
931.53
56
629.78
2929.92
55
146.61
194.24
56
93.81
138.91
55
MUSIC * BOOK
120.36
204.55
56
85.42
69.83
55
Summary
The results of this study show that
auditory stimuli can influence the
Galvanic Skin Response.
This data
suggests that the auditory environment
can impact autonomic nervous system
function and potentially influence the
stress state of an individual.
Further, this data suggests that it is
possible to use auditory stimuli to
influence the outcome of the Galvanic
Skin Response component of a
polygraph.