Steven E. Stern

Sexuality and mass media: The historical context of psychology's reaction to sexuality on the internet

Although the Internet is a relatively new technology, many concerns regarding it are not new. This applies to preoccupation with the transmission of sexual material and information over the Internet. In this analysis, we will examine a recurring pattern of scientific concern regarding sexuality in the media. Furthermore, we will discuss some overarching theories that help us to understand the expression of sexuality in mass media. Although the Internet is different in many ways from preceding technologies, we conclude that expressions of sexuality on the Internet are not fundamentally different from earlier technologies.

Social perception of male and female computer synthesized speech

The present study addressed the issue of whether social perception of human speech and computerized text-to-speech (TTS) is affected by gender of voice and gender of listener. Listeners were presented with a persuasive argument in either male or female human or synthetic voice and were assessed on attitude change and their ratings of various speech qualities. The results indicated that female human speech was rated as preferable to female synthetic speech, and that male synthetic speech was rated as preferable to female synthetic speech. Degree of persuasion did not differ across human and synthetic speech, however, female listeners were persuaded more by the argument than male listeners were. Patterns of ratings across male and female listeners were fairly similar across human and synthetic speech, suggesting that gender stereotyping for human voices and computerized voices may occur in a similar fashion.

The persuasiveness of synthetic speech versus human speech

Is computer-synthesized speech as persuasive as the human voice when presenting an argument? After completing an attitude pretest, 193 participants were randomly assigned to listen to a persuasive appeal under three conditions: a high-quality synthesized speech system (DECtalk Express), a low-quality synthesized speech system (Monologue), and a tape recording of a human voice. Following the appeal, participants completed a posttest attitude survey and a series of questionnaires designed to assess perceptions of speech qualities, perceptions of the speaker, and perceptions of the message. The human voice was generally perceived more favorably than the computer-synthesized voice, and the speaker was perceived more favorably when the voice was a human voice than when it was computer synthesized. There was, however, no evidence that computerized speech, as compared with the human voice, affected persuasion or perceptions of the message. Actual or potential applications of this research include issues that should be considered when designing synthetic speech systems.

The lost e-mail method: Milgram’s lost-letter technique in the age of the Internet

We examined Milgram’s (1977) lost-letter technique using e-mail. In the first experiment, 79 college faculty received mock lost e-mail messages. Nineteen percent of those who received the messages responded, in all cases by returning the message to the “sender” instead of forwarding it to the “recipient.” In the second study, attitudes toward presidential candidate Ross Perot were examined by sending out two different messages to 200 randomly selected e-mail addresses in the United States. Although there was no differential response rate, examination of content revealed attitudes consistent with concurrent poll data.

Effects of perceived disability on persuasiveness of computer-synthesized speech

Are perceptions of computer-synthesized speech altered by the belief that the person using this technology is disabled? In a 2 x 2 factorial design, participants completed an attitude pretest and were randomly assigned to watch an actor deliver a persuasive appeal under 1 of the following 4 conditions: disabled or nondisabled using normal speech and disabled or nondisabled using computer-synthesized speech. Participants then completed a posttest survey and a series of questionnaires assessing perceptions of voice, speaker, and message. Natural speech was perceived more favorably and was more persuasive than computer-synthesized speech. When the speaker was perceived to be speech-disabled, however, this difference diminished. This finding suggests that negatively viewed assistive technologies will be perceived more favorably when used by people with disabilities.

Persuasion and social perception of human vs. synthetic voice across person as source and computer as source conditions

There is evidence that people react more positively when they are presented with faces that are consistent with their voices. Nass and Brave [2005]. Wired for speech: How voice Activates and Advances the Human-computer Relationship. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA] found that computerized and human faces were perceived more positively when paired, respectively, with synthesized versus human voices than when paired with inconsistent voices. The present study sought to examine whether this type of inconsistency would effect perceptions of persuasive messages delivered by humans versus computers. We created a situation in which reactions to computer synthesized speech were compared to human speech when the speech was either from a person or a computer. This paper presents two studies, one using audio taped stimuli and one using videotaped stimuli, with type of speech (human versus computer synthesized) manipulated factorially with source (person versus computer). As hypothesized, both studies suggest that in the human as source condition, human voice is perceived more favorably than synthetic voice. However, in the computer as source condition, both human and computer voice were rated similarly. We discuss these findings in terms of consistency as well as group processes effects that may be occurring.

Computer-Synthesized Speech and Perceptions of the Social Influence of Disabled Users

Computer-synthesized speech is frequently used as an assistive technology for people with speech disabilities including those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this short article, the conditions that lead to speech loss and how people perceive computer-synthesized speech, particularly when it is used by the speaking disabled, are discussed. Specific attention is paid to the authors own program of research that has examined how perceptions of trustworthiness are moderated by the use of synthetic speech, whether the user is speech disabled, and the purpose for which the synthetic speech is used. Based on this research, four specific conclusions are presented.

Computer Synthesized Speech Technologies: Tools for Aiding Impairment

Computer Synthesized Speech Technologies: Tools for Aiding Impairment provides information to current and future practitioners that will allow them to better assist speech disabled individuals who wish to utilize CSS technology. Just as important as the practitioners knowledge of the latest advances in speech technology, so, too, is the practitioners understanding of how specific client needs affect the use of CSS, how cognitive factors related to comprehension of CSS affect its use, and how social factors related to perceptions of the CSS user affect their interaction with others. This cutting edge book addresses those topics pertinent to understanding the myriad of concerns involved with the implementation of CSS so that CSS technologies may continue to evolve and improve for speech impaired individuals.

Distortions in the Memory of the Pitch of Speech

Corneille, Huart, Becquart, & Brédart (2004) found that people remember ambiguous race faces as closer to a race prototype than they actually are. In three studies, we examined whether this memory bias generalizes to voice memory. In Studies 1 and 2, participants listened to synthesized male and female speech samples (high, moderate, or low pitch) and were asked to identify a voice target when paired against distracters higher or lower in pitch. The results showed that pitch distortions occurred, with the pattern consistent with assimilation toward low and high ends of the pitch continuum. Study 3 replicated this result with a wider voice pitch range. The results parallel those of Corneille et al. (2004). The implications of this work are discussed.

Ranking Harassment: A Multidimensional Scaling of Sexual Harassment Scenarios

Abstract Despite a recent storm of research on sexual harassment, there is not a useful way to categorize sexual harassment behaviors. Researchers have often relied on the dimension of severity, arranging behaviors in terms of how severe or offensive each behavior is. However, because sexual harassment, by definition, necessarily involves an act that is offensive and severe, we challenge the dimension of severity as the most meaningful categorization. In this exploratory research, we employed multidimensional scaling to analyze the results of a sorting task. Undergraduate women in the United States were asked to sort 18 sexual harassment scenarios. Results suggest a two-dimensional solution, with publicness and traditionality as the proposed dimensions.