The Effect of Psychological Stress on Auditory Perception

....................................................................................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................ 3 TABLE OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................... 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 8 DECLARATION .................................................................................................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 10 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS? .................................................................................................................. 10 AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 12 PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS ........................................................................... 15 PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND AUDITORY PERCEPTION ................................................................................... 18 ATTENTIONAL CONTROL THEORY ................................................................................................................ 18 DOES STRESS DISRUPT THE INHIBITION OF DISTRACTING, EMOTIONALLY NEUTRAL AUDITORY SIGNALS? 20 DOES STRESS DISRUPT GOAL-DIRECTED AUDITORY PROCESSING? ............................................................. 22 SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE CONCERNING THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON AUDITORY PERCEPTION ................... 24 PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................... 25 METHOD OF MANIPULATING PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS................................................................................... 27 THESIS OUTLINE ............................................................................................................................................... 28 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 29 SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY ........................................................................................................................ 30 AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS IN A SIGNAL DETECTION FRAMEWORK ........................................................ 30 PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND SIGNAL DETECTION ...................................................................................... 31 EXPECTATION AND SIGNAL DETECTION ....................................................................................................... 34 SUMMARY OF HYPOTHESES ......................................................................................................................... 37 POWER ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................................... 39 PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................................................................. 39 TASK DESIGN ................................................................................................................................................ 39 STIMULI AND APPARATUS ........................................................................................................................... 44 PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................................... 45 SPIELBERGER STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI: SPIELBERGER, ET AL., 1983). .............................................. 45 LAUNAY-SLADE HALLUCINATION SCALE (LSHS MODIFIED VERSION: LAROI, ET AL., 2004) .............................. 45 SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE (SPQ: RAINE, 1991) ................................................................... 45 PROCEDURE ................................................................................................................................................. 45 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................ 46 COMPARISON OF SIGNAL DETECTION PARAMETERS ................................................................................................ 46 BEHAVIOURAL PERFORMANCE .................................................................................................................... 48 SIGNAL DETECTION ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................... 48 PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES ......................................................................................................................... 49 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES AND SIGNAL DETECTION PERFORMANCE .............. 50 IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS ON PERCEPTUAL PERFORMANCE ...................................................... 52 IMPACT OF THE PRESENCE OF PREDICTIVE SIGNALS ON PERCEPTUAL PERFORMANCE .............................. 55 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND MEASURES OF POSITIVE SCHIZOTYPY ............................... 56 LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 57 The effect of psychological stress on auditory perception 4 | P a g e CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 58 CHAPTER 3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 59 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 59 THE PASSIVE ODDBALL PARADIGM .............................................................................................................. 60 STRESS AND PASSIVE ODDBALL STUDIES ..................................................................................................... 61 TASK DESIGN ................................................................................................................................................ 62 ODDBALL STUDIES AND POSITIVE SCHIZOTYPY ........................................................................................... 65 STRESS MANIPULATION ............................................................................................................................... 65 SUMMARY OF HYPOTHESES ......................................................................................................................... 67 METHOD ........................................................................................................................................................... 68 POWER ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................................... 68 PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................................................................. 68 TASK DESIGN ................................................................................................................................................ 68 CROSSMODAL PASSIVE ODDBALL TASK ..................................................................................................................... 68 SPEECH PASSIVE ODDBALL TASK ............................................................................................................................... 72 GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN ............................................................................................................... 72 RECOGNITION TASK ................................................................................................................................................... 73 STIMULI AND APPARATUS ........................................................................................................................... 73 PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................................... 74 PROCEDURE ................................................................................................................................................. 74 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................ 74 BAYESIAN ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................................. 75 SKIN CONDUCTANCE RESPONSE ............................................................................................................................... 76 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................................ 78 BEHAVIOURAL PERFORMANCE .................................................................................................................... 78 PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES ......................................................................................................................... 78 CROSSMODAL ODDBALL STUDY ................................................................................................................... 79 MAIN ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................................................... 79 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES ........................................................... 80 SPEECH PASSIVE ODDBALL TASK .................................................................................................................. 80 MAIN ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................................................... 80 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES ........................................................... 81 SKIN CONDUCTANCE DATA .......................................................................................................................... 82 DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................................................... 84 PREVIOUS CROSSMODAL ODDBALL STUDIES ............................................................................................... 84 ATTENTIONAL CONTROL THEORY ................................................................................................................ 85 GOAL-SHIELDING THEORY ............................................................................................................................ 88 RELEVANCE TO AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS .............................................................................................. 90 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND MEASURES OF POSITIVE SCHIZOTYPY ............................... 93 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 93 CHAPTER 4 ..................................................................................................................................................... 94 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 94 LATERALITY OF GOAL-SHIELDING EFFECT .................................................................................................... 94 LOCATION OF DISTRACTION......................................................................................................................... 95 IMPACT OF PERCEPTUAL LOAD ON THE GOAL-SHIELDING EFFECT ............................................................. 95 TASK DESIGN ................................................................................................................................................ 96 SUMMARY OF HYPOTHESES ......................................................................................................................... 97 The effect of psychological stress on auditory perception 5 | P a g e PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................................................................. 99 TASK DESIGN ................................................................................................................................................ 99 TONE ODDBALL TASK .............................................................................................................................................. 100 DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASK ........................................................................................................................................ 100 STIMULI AND APPARATUS ......................................................................................................................... 102 PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................... 102 PROCEDURE ............................................................................................................................................... 102 DATA ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................................... 103 RESULTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 105 BEHAVIOURAL PERFORMANCE .................................................................................................................. 105 PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES ....................................................................................................................... 105 TONE ODDBALL TASK ................................................................................................................................. 105 MAIN ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................................... 105 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES ......................................................... 107 DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASK .......................................................................................................................... 107 MAIN ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................................... 107 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES ......................................................... 109 SKIN CONDUCTANCE DATA ........................................................................................................................ 109 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................................................... 111 TONE ODDBALL TASK ................................................................................................................................. 111 DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASK .......................................................................................................................... 114 EFFECTIVENESS OF STRESS MANIPULATION .............................................................................................. 116 DISTINCTION BETWEEN TASK DIFFICULTY AND STRESS ............................................................................. 116 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND MEASURES OF POSITIVE SCHIZOTYPY ............................. 118 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................. 118 CHAPTER 5: GENERAL DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................. 119 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................ 119 UNIQUE FINDINGS .......................................................................................................................................... 121 IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON AUDITORY PERCEPTION ....................... 122 ATTENTIONAL CONTROL THEORY .............................................................................................................. 122 GOAL-SHIELDING THEORY .......................................................................................................................... 124 STATE VERSUS TRAIT MANIPULATIONS OF STRESS.................................................................................... 126 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS ............................................... 127 A MODEL OF HOW STRESS ENCOURAGES PRONENESS TO AUDITORY HALLUCINATION .......................... 127 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................................. 128 THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 132 FUTURE DIRECTIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 132 THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON AUDITORY PERCEPTION ................................................................................. 132 RELEVANCE TO AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS ............................................................................................ 134 LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 136 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................................. 138 APPENDIX 1: SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY ................................................................................................... 153 APPENDIX 2: SENTENCE FRAMES AND TARGETS NOUNS USED DURING THE SIGNAL DETECTION TASK ....... 156 APPENDIX 3: RATINGS FOR IAPS IMAGES USED DURING THE SIGNAL DETECTION TASK .............................. 157 APPENDIX 4: CALCULATION OF SIGNAL DETECTION PARAMETERS .............................................................. 158 PARAMETRIC MODEL OF SIGNAL DETECTION ................................................................................................ 158 The effect of psychological stress on auditory perception 6 | P a g e TESTING ASSUMPTIONS OF PARAMETRIC SDT .............................................................................................. 158 DISTRIBUTION-FREE MEASURES OF SIGNAL DETECTION PARAMETERS: THE ROC CURVE ............................ 160 APPENDIX 5: AUDIO-VISUAL STIMULI USED DURING THE ODDBALL STUDIES. ............................................. 164 APPENDIX 6: WORDS USED AS AUDITORY STIMULI DURING ODDBALL TRIALS. ........................................... 165 APPENDIX 7: ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF STANDARD WORD TYPE ON THE ODDBALL EFFECT .................. 166 APPENDIX 8: REACTION TIMES DURING THE SPEECH ODDBALL TASK .......................................................... 167 APPENDIX 9: WAVEFORMS FOR THE SPEECH STIMULI USED DURING DICHOTIC ODDBALL TRIALS............... 168 The effect of psychological stress on auditory perception 7 | P a g e Table of figures FIGURE 1 . CLASSIFICATION OF POSSIBLE RESPONSES DURING A SIGNAL DETECTION TASK. .......................... 30 FIGURE 2 : PICTORIAL REPRESENTATION OF AN AUDITORY SIGNAL DETECTION TRIAL .................................. 40 FIGURE 3 : AN EXAMPLE OF THE VISUAL TASK PRESENTED DURING THE SIGNAL DETECTION STUDY. ............ 41 FIGURE 4 : EXAMPLES OF THE FOUR AUDITORY TRIAL TYPES PRESENT DURING THE SIGNAL DETECTION TASK42 FIGURE 5 : EFFECT OF THE MANIPULATIONS OF EXPECTATION AND STRESS ON SENSITIVITY AND RESPONSE BIAS. .............................................................................................................................................................. 49 FIGURE 6 : SPEARMAN’S RHO CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS BETWEEN VARIOUS PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES TAKEN DURING THE SIGNAL DETECTION TASK. .............................................................................................. 50 FIGURE 7 : RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRAIT ANXIETY AND THE EFFECT OF THE STRESS MANIPULATION ON RESPONSE BIAS. ............................................................................................................................................. 51 FIGURE 8 : POTENTIAL MECHANISM EXPLAINING THE PROPENSITY OF STRESS TO CAUSE HALLUCINATIONS IN PSYCHOTIC INDIVIDUALS. .............................................................................................................................. 55 FIGURE 9 : EXAMPLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL TRIAL DURING THE CROSSMODAL ODDBALL TASK. ....................... 69 FIGURE 10 : EXAMPLE OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF ODDBALL TRAILS WITHIN EACH BLOCK. .......................... 70 FIGURE 11 : AN INDIVIDUAL TRIAL DURING THE SPEECH ODDBALL PARADIGM. ............................................ 72 FIGURE 12 : SPEARMAN’S RHO CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS BETWEEN THE PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES COLLECTED DURING THE FIRST ODDBALL STUDY. ......................................................................................... 78 FIGURE 13 : MEAN REACTION TIME AND ERROR RATE DURING THE CROSSMODAL ODDBALL TASK. ............. 79 FIGURE 14 : MEAN REACTION TIMES (MS) DURING THE SPEECH ODDBALL TASK. .......................................... 81 FIGURE 15 : RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HANDEDNESS AND THE DIFFERENCE IN THE STRESS-INDUCED REDUCTION IN THE ODDBALL EFFECT BETWEEN EARS DURING THE SPEECH ODDBALL TASK. ........................ 82 FIGURE 16 : SCR MEASURES FOR BOTH THE CROSSMODAL AND SPEECH ODDBALL TASKS. ........................... 83 FIGURE 17 : GRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE TONE ODDBALL TASK. ........................................................ 100 FIGURE 18 : GRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASK. ................................................. 101 FIGURE 19 : THE FOUR DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS OF STANDARD STIMULI DURING THE DICHOTIC TASK. 102 FIGURE 20 : SPEARMAN’S RHO CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS BETWEEN THE PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES USED IN THE SECOND ODDBALL STUDY. ................................................................................................................ 105 FIGURE 21 : REACTION TIMES DURING THE TONE ODDBALL TASK FOR BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT EAR STIMULI.106 FIGURE 22 : NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE ANXIETY AND THE SIZE OF THE ODDBALL EFFECT DURING THE TONE AND DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASKS. ................................................................................... 107 FIGURE 23 : REACTION TIMES DURING THE DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASK. ........................................................ 108 FIGURE 24 : ERROR RATES DURING THE DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASK. ............................................................. 109 FIGURE 25 : SKIN CONDUCTANCE RESPONSE DATA COLLECTED DURING THE TONE AND DICHOTIC ODDBALL TASKS. ......................................................................................................................................................... 110 The effect of psychological stress on auditory perception 8 | P a g e Acknowledgments I would like to thank Prof. Peter Woodruff and Dr Michael Hunter for supervising this project and Martin Brook for assistance with programming the experimental tasks. I would also like to thank the various members of SCANLAB who have provided helpful input into task design and data interpretation during the course of the project. Funding for the project came from the Sheffield University Scholarship Scheme. The effect of psychological stress on auditory perception 9 | P a g e Declaration This thesis contains original work, completed by the author. No part of this work has been submitted for a degree at any other university. Selected aspects of this research have been presented at conferences or published in peer-reviewed journals, as detailed below. The data reported in Chapter 2 has been published as Hoskin, R., Hunter, M.D., Woodruff, P.W. (2014). The effect of psychological stress and expectation on auditory perception: A signal detection analysis. British Journal of Psychology. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjop.12048/abstract These data were also presented by the author at British Psychology Society: Cognitive Section conference (Glasgow, August 2012) as ‘The effect of psychological stress and expectation on auditory perception: A signal detection analysis’. The crossmodal experiment reported in Chapter 3 has been accepted for publication as Hoskin, R., Hunter, M.D., Woodruff, P.W. Neither state of trait anxiety alter the response to distracting emotionally neutral sounds (Journal: Experimental Psychology) The unimodal experiments from Chapter 3 and 4 are under review as Hoskin, R., Hunter, M.D., Woodruff, P.W. Stress improves selective attention to emotionally neutral left ear stimuli (Journal: Acta Psychologica) The data from Chapter 3 was also presented by the author at the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress (Edinburgh, July 2013) as ‘Psychological stress improves selective attention to emotionally neutral auditory stimuli’. The effect of psychological stress on auditory perception 10 | P a g e Chapter 1: General Introduction