Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 1

Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate

Nicholas A. Walker

Pandora-Gilboa High School

Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 2

Abstract

In this experiment the effects of audience authority on heart rate and speech production

was tested on a group of 23 young adults (ages 16-18). Environment is a key factor on the

production of stress hormones during speaking that affect each individual in different ways. The

goal and purpose of this experiment is to see the correlation between how the authority of an

audience could change a young adult’s heart rate and speaking patterns. Over the course of 5

days each participant’s heart rate and visual reactions were documented every 10 seconds in two

separate situations: one where they were tasked to present a short paragraph in front of two peers

(both age 18), and another where they were tasked to present a similar short paragraph in front of

two authority figures (Pandora-Gilboa High School’s Principal, Dr. Wise, and Pandora-Gilboa

Local Schools’ Superintendent, Mr. Schmutz). Results showed that while heart rate is not

affected by audience authority during public speaking, it had a noticeable effect on the

participant’s speech production.

Keywords: Heart Rate, Speech Production, Authority, Public Speaking, Stress

Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 3

Purpose: When told to give a speech, does the authority of the audience affect high schooler’s,

age 17-18, heart rate/speech production?

Research:

Stress stimulates several adaptive hormonal responses. Prominent among these responses

are the secretion of catecholamines from the adrenal medulla, corticosteroids from the adrenal

cortex, and adrenocorticotropin from the anterior pituitary. Exposure to high levels of

glucocorticoids, a type of corticosteroid, is associated with both memory impairments and a 14%

smaller volume of the hippocampus. In young adults, it has been shown that cognitive processing

sustained by the frontal lobes is sensitive to acute increases of glucocorticoids. Memory

performance in young adults can also be acutely modulated by pharmacological manipulation of

glucocorticoids. High imbalance was associated with a higher heart rate during work as well as

directly after work.

Null Hypothesis: When reading a paragraph in front of peers, heart rate does not change when

compared to reading in front of authority.

Alternate Hypothesis: When reading a paragraph in front of peers, heart rate will be lower than

that of when reading in front of authority.

Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 4

Method

Procedure

1.) Obtain approximately 30 subjects ranging in age from 16-18 years old

2.) Explain procedure to participants

- “We will be running an experiment. We will need you to read this short paragraph

on a piece of paper with a monitor attached to your finger. Make sure the monitor

is faced to where we can see it. While reading please stand as still as possible

until you have finished. When we say go, you may start reading.”

3.) Lead one subject to Mrs. Miller’s classroom

4.) Have subject read paragraph in front of team members

5.) As the subject reads, have one team member document the heart rate every 10 seconds,

while another team member documents any nervous ticks and/or stuttering throughout the

reading.

6.) Stop recording the subject when they finish reading

7.) Remove monitor from participant and return them to class

8.) Repeat 3-7 for each of the 30 subjects

9.) Repeat steps 1-7 with the same subjects on a different day using a similar paragraph in

front of an authority figure(s).

Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 5

Results

Heart rate was recorded every 10 seconds for the 23 participants while speaking in front of peers

(see Appendix C).

Visual observations were recorded every 10 seconds for the 23 participants while speaking in

front of peers (see Appendix D).

Heart rate was recorded every 10 seconds for the 23 participants while speaking in front of

authority (see Appendix E).

Visual observations were recorded every 10 seconds for the 23 participants while speaking in

front of authority (see Appendix F).

Calculations were done to determine the significance of our data involving heart rate (see

Appendix G). This was done so using a dependent t-test (see Appendix H).

Conclusion

We accept the null hypothesis that when reading in front of peers, heart rate does not

change compared to reading in front of authority. We reject our alternative hypothesis that when

reading a paragraph in front of peers, heart rate will be lower than that of when reading in front

of authority.
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 6

Summary

In this experiment a group of classmates and I tested the effect that authority had on heart

rate during public speaking in young adults. To do so we planned an experiment that would last 5

days in total. The first three days were designated to have each of the participants read a short

paragraph in front of a group of two peers. The last two days were designated to have each of the

same participants read a similar short paragraph in front of two authority figures. For both of the

situations, we recorded heart rate every 10 seconds as well as any visual observations. To prepare

for this experiment we did research on stress hormones and how they could affect heart rate as

well as how they could affect different brain functions. There are some points of error that are

important to take note of. We are not aware of what the participants did before speaking, so we

do not know if they had ingested any stimulants like coffee before reading, potentially affecting

results. The paragraphs being different could have also affected the participants reading ability

and indirectly affected heart rate. The presence of two people recording data could have also

affected heart rate as there was always a peer presence in the room. Disregarding these potential

errors, results showed that while speaking in front of people does affect heart rate, it does not

differ between speaking to peers and speaking to authority. Our critical value was 1.717, and

after performing a dependent t-test for both groups, we found both to be equal to 4.65. This data

showed that while it is significant that public speaking raises heart rate, the difference between

the two is not significant. This proved our alternate hypothesis that heart rate would be higher

when speaking in front of authority to be incorrect. However, there were noticeably more

incidents of stuttering as well as other nervous ticks when speaking in front of authority. This

showed that there is a correlation between audience authority and speech production. Overall we
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 7

learned that while public speaking is heart racing in general, but audience authority can play a

role on how well public speaking is performed through stress hormones. Some questions I have

after finishing this experiment are: Is heart rate affected in a similar way when presenting to

people younger than the speaker? How could certain stimulants and depressants affect speech

production? How is body temperature affected by similar stressful situations? Does the audience

experience stress when hearing people speak?

Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 8

Appendix A

World War I, also known as the First World War, was a global war centered in Europe that began
on 28th July 1914 and lasted until 11th November 1918. The war lasted exactly four years, three
months and 14 days. Before World War II began in 1939, World War I was called the Great War,
the World War or the War to End all Wars. 135 countries took part in World War I, and more than
15 million people died. World War 1 was a military conflict lasting from 1914 to 1918 which
involved nearly all the biggest powers of the world. It involved two opposing alliances – the
Allies and the Central Powers. The countries of the Allies included Russia, France, British
Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and
Montenegro. The countries of the Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey,
and Bulgaria. World War I was bad, but World War II was worse.

Appendix B

World War II, also called Second World War, conflict that involved virtually every part of the
world during the years 1939–45. The Axis Powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the
Allies were France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent,
China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year rebellion, of the
disputes left unsettled by World War I. The 40 million–50 million deaths incurred in World War
II make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history. Along with World War I,
World War II was one of the great watersheds of 20th-century geopolitical history. World War II
was worse but just wait for World War III.

Appendix C

Baselin
Name e BPM 0 sec 10 sec 20 sec 30 sec 40 sec 50 sec 60 sec 70 sec 80 sec 90 sec
Wyatt 99 99 99 99 99 98 99 99 99 99
Sam 69 70 69 71 69 68 70 75
Will 57 60 71 80 81 80 74 74 72
Breckin 77 73 90 83 76 85 91 95 87
Jaden 80 85 81 97 96 98 96 99
Carson 42 43 47 48 46 47 46 43
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 9

Mikayla 86 86 85 82 83 87 92 88 91 94
Hailey 82 82 97 95 94 91 90
Taryn 99 107 106 108 106 114 110 109 102
Lillie 82 80 75 72 75 74 71 74
Erin 94 94 96 94 91 94 93 90
Lacie 67 67 83 93 83 90 88 91 89
Dillan 88 95 102 101 100 101 100 102 103 105
Grace 102 104 108 114 111 111 114 115 113
Autumn 109 108 113 113 108 110 109 106 108
Dylan 98 105 101 98 99 94 89 93 91 90
Ethan 71 78 75 74 77 80 81
Aliyah 92 89 87 80 77 68 72
Emily 111 109 110 93 88 90 90 92
Hanna
h 65 69 82 110 106 98 95 96 98 98 97
Megan 112 115 119 115 115 117 112 104 110
Olivia 107 106 101 92 77 79 77 67
Emma 85 80 95 90 84 84 81 82 82

Appendix D

Names 0 sec 10 sec 20 sec 30 sec 40 sec 50 sec 60 sec 70 sec 80 sec 90 sec
Wyatt Foot Foot
Niese - Rocking tapping tapping Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking
Sam Eyebro
Norton - - - w Move - Flush -
Will Knee
Huffman - Rocking Rocking Twitch Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking
Breckin Heavy Slight Heavy Heavy Heavy
Groathous breathin stutterin breathin breathin breathin
e g g g g g - - -
Jaden
Kohli - - Stutter - - - -
Carson Slight Slight
Altman - - Rocking Rocking - - -
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 10

Mikayla
Simons Stutter Rocking Stutter - Rocking Stutter Rocking - -
Hailey
Dysert - - - - - -
Taryn Foot Foot Foot Foot Foot
Scott - tapping tapping - tapping tapping tapping -
Lillie Stance Stance
Nofziger Stutter - - change - change -
Erin Foot Foot
Shartell Rocking tapping Rocking tapping Rocking Rocking Rocking
Lacie
Fensterma Knee Leg
ker locking - Stutter extend Stutter Rocking - -
Dillan Lip
Krohn - twitch Stutter - - - - - -
Grace Head Head Stance
Torres Shaking Shaking - Giggle - Stutter Change
Autumn Rocking Stance
Schulte - /Stutter - Change Stutter Stutter -
Stutter/
Dylan Stance Stance
Fenbert Change - Stutter Stutter Stutter Stutter - Change
Ethan Big
Lugibihl - - Breath - - -
Aliyah Stance
Wise - change Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking
Emily Head Head
Butte Stutter - shaking - shaking - Stutter
Heavy Heavy
Hannah breathin breathin
Doty - g Stutter - - g - - - -
Heavy
Meghan Skipped breathin
Fischer word Stutter g - Stutter - - Stutter -
Olivia
Shaneyfelt Stutter - Stutter Head tilt - - -
Emma Knee
Gerding Stutter - Stutter - bend - Stutter -
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 11

Appendix E

Baseline
Name BPM 0 sec 10 sec 20 sec 30 sec 40 sec 50 sec 60 sec
Aliyah 84 89 87 88 86 86
Wyatt 98 107 107 107 99 101 102
Emily 83 87 100 103 103 98 98
Carson 53 53 52 47 47 44 43
Grace 110 110 123 124 122 129 130
Hannah 119 120 122 117 104 104 99 95
Megan 120 123 126 113 111 108 104 104
Autumn 110 106 110 109 105 103
Emma 78 75 78 83 85 81 82
Olivia 104 91 90 78 83 83
Ethan 93 83 75 78 77 74
Dylan 102 102 104 98 96 96 112 113
Jaden 93 85 92 99 108 109 106
Will 59 66 76 73 66 59 58
Lillie 69 65 66 68 73 75
Sam 67 69 97 99 89 91
Hailey 70 69 109 107 103 93
Breckin 103 107 106 94 96 96 100
Erin 96 104 102 113 108 110
Lacie 70 86 101 118 110 94 99
Taryn 96 92 92 103 108 104 99
Mikayla 102 79 80 80 80 60 60
Dillan 78 85 91 89 97 99 94
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 12

Appendix F

Names 0 sec 10 sec 20 sec 30 sec 40 sec 50 sec 60 sec

Wyatt Niese - Stutter Knee twitch Rocking Rocking Stutter
Shaky
voice, Deep
Sam Norton Swallow - Stutter breath -
Deeper
Will Huffman - breaths Stutter Stutter -
Breckin Deeper Deep
Groathouse Stutter breaths Stutter - breath -
Jaden Kohli Red flush - Stutter - Stutter
Laughing,
Stutter, red Uneasy
Carson Altman face - breathing - Stutter -
Mikayla Stutter, "oh
Simons my gosh" Stutter - - -
Deep
breath,
Deeper Stance Foot
Hailey Dysert - breaths change rocking
Red flush,
Foot
tapping, Stutter, Stutter, Stutter,
Taryn Scott Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking
Red flush,
Lillie Nofziger Stutter Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking
Stutter,
Foot Foot
Red flush, tapping, tapping, Foot Foot
Erin Shartell Stutter Rocking Rocking tapping tapping -
Voice
Lacie Red flush, Apologize, crack, Stutter, Stutter,
Fenstermaker Stutter Rocking Rocking Rocking Rocking
Deep
Dillan Krohn breaths Stutter - - Stutter -
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 13

Grace Torres Stutter - - Rocking Stutter

Autumn Shaking Deep
Schulte legs Rocking Rocking breath -
Deep Deep
breath, Deep breath, Stance
Dylan Fenbert Stutter Cough breath Stutter change Stutter
Shaky Deep
Ethan Lugibihl - hand breath - -
Aliyah Wise - - Stutter - -
Shaky Stance
Emily Butte Stutter Stutter voice Stutter change Stutter
Heavy Heavy
Hannah Doty breathing breathing Stutter Stutter - Stutter Stutter
Meghan
Fischer Swallow Stutter Stutter Stutter Foot shift -
Olivia
Shaneyfelt Leg tapping - Stutter Swallow -
Emma Stutter, red Rocking,
Gerding flush Stutter Kick Rocking Stutter

Appendix G

Highest Difference^ Highest Difference^

Baseline Score Difference 2 Baseline Score Difference 2
99 99 0 0 98 107 -9 81
69 75 -6 36 67 99 -32 1024
57 81 -24 576 59 76 -17 289
77 91 -14 196 103 107 -4 16
80 98 -18 324 93 109 -16 256
42 48 -6 36 53 53 0 0
86 94 -8 64 102 102 0 0
82 97 -15 225 70 107 -37 1369
99 114 -15 225 96 108 -12 144
82 82 0 0 69 75 -6 36
94 96 -2 4 96 113 -17 289
67 93 -26 676 70 118 -48 2304
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 14

88 102 -14 196 78 113 -35 1225

102 116 -14 196 110 130 -20 400
109 113 -4 16 110 110 0 0
98 105 -7 49 102 112 -10 100
71 81 -10 100 93 93 0 0
92 92 0 0 84 89 -5 25
111 111 0 0 83 103 -20 400
65 106 -41 1681 119 120 -1 1
112 117 -5 25 120 126 -6 36
107 107 0 0 104 104 0 0
85 85 0 0 78 85 -7 49
-229 4625 -302 8044
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 15

Appendix H
Audience’s Authority Effect On Heart Rate 16

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