1. The most important results:
Simultaneous interpreting and stress: pilot experiment
"Tatiana V. Chernigovskaya"
Introduction:
Simultaneous interpretation is one of the most difficult and stressful types of verbal activity. Stress is manifested in cognitive, emotional, motor and vegetative areas. A research technology developed recently – event-related telemetry (ERT) - makes it possible to quantify the severity of these changes. The theoretical basis of our research was the knowledge that stress is a nonspecific phasic systemic protective reduced psycho-physiological reaction to injury or threat (S. Parin, ).
In our pilot study we set up an experimental model with 4 consecutive tasks:
shadowing in a foreign language – English (n=4); German (n=5) or Russian (n=1) (FR); interpreting from a foreign language (FT), shadowing in the mother tongue (NR) and interpreting from the mother tongue into a foreign language (NT). Ten students trained to become simultaneous interpreters (9 females, 1 male; aged 23-28, native tongue – Russian (n=9) or German (n=1)) participated in the experiment. Interpreters worked in pairs in an interpreter booth, swapping places after each two tasks (FR+FT; NR+NT). To provide ecological validity, 8 authentic speeches on one topic (climate change) have been selected and recorded by native speakers, the length of each speech ranging between 6 and 7 minutes.
Tatiana V. Chernigovskaya, Sergei B. Parin, Irina S. Parina, Alena A. Konina, Dina K. Urikh, Yulia O. Yachmonina, Maria A. Chernova & Sofia A. Polevaya
Russia:
Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg;
Dobrolyubov State Linguistic University, Nizhny Novgorod;
Lobachevsky State University, Nizhny Novgorod;
Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy
Methods:
Experiment Design
Before and after the performance the subjects took psycho-physiological tests, which included an original emotional disadaptation test, campimetry, sensorimotor activity test, laterometry and Stroop test. The measurements were performed via Zephyr HxM Smart Heart Rate Monitor in the framework of event-related telemetry registering heart rate variability and stress episodes.
After the experiment statistical processing of psycho-physiological data and expert evaluation of the quality of implementation of linguistic tasks were carried out.
Abbreviations:
EDL - emotional disadaptation level test ; FR - shadowing in a foreign language; FT - interpreting from a foreign language; NR - shadowing in the mother tongue; NT - interpreting from the mother tongue into a foreign language; ERT - event-related telemetry.
The most important results: FR FT NT NR
All participants showed significant effects associated with task type. It indicates the specificity of autonomic regulation of different objective functions. Two examples (a successful and an unsuccessful translator) are presented above.
Stress load in solving professional problems.
Examples of individual heart rhythmogram records of one of the subjects (at the top). Below - the dynamics of rhythmogram spectrum total power (TP - black line) and of the index of autonomic balance (LF/HF - red graph). Blue and gray vertical stripes mark episodes of stress. FR, FT, NR and NT mark professional tasks (see “Methods”).
The structure of relations in the system of the heart rate variability parameters and professional task performance criteria was investigated by correlation analysis. It was found that successful task performance was connected with high integration of indicators within vegetative and linguistic modules, and inter-module communication. Failures related to the reduction of both internal and inter-module communications.
The significance of effects associated with the source language was shown in 9 out of 10 subjects. Two examples (a successful and an unsuccessful translator) are presented above.
A typical episode of stress in the heart rhythmogram dynamics during simultaneous translation.
Parameters of autonomic regulation in the psycho-physiological tests before professional task performance make it possible to predict the success of future work: in successful interpreters (Cluster 1) higher activity of central regulation circuit was observed.
Changes in functional status were related to the efficiency of professional task performance. In successful interpreters a dramatic increase in sympathetic activation during the psycho-physiological tests was observed.
An example of the summary table of basic statistical indicators of heart rate variability spectrum in the performance of professional tasks and expert assessments of their success (foreign languages – German and Russian).
The modes of vegetative support during shadowing and interpreting are different. Out of 10 subjects, seven have shown significant effects associated with the factor "task“ and three other have shown difference in the modes when the source language was taken into consideration.
The successful implementation of professional tasks was associated with increased stress load (F=6.1, p=0.018): quicker task solution corresponded to longer duration of acute stress.
Performing professional tasks significantly affected the modes of vegetative maintenance of task solving during the psycho-physiological tests.
Two typical examples are presented above. Stage 1 - in psycho-physiological tests before performing professional tasks; Stage 2 - in psycho-physiological tests after performing professional tasks.
In the array of spectral parameters of heart rate variability 3 clusters can be allocated: cluster 1 is dominated by regimes associated with the successful solution of problems; cluster 2 is dominated by regimes associated with unsuccessful problem solving. Successful work is provided by a consistently high level of activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic (vagal) nervous systems.
Comparison of the level of emotional disadaptation with varying success in professional task performance
The difference between explicit and implicit representation of stress
Conclusions:
All participants showed significant effects associated with factors of “task" (shadowing, interpretation) and "source language" (native or foreign). Personalized analysis revealed the specificity of autonomic regulation of different objective functions. In successful interpreters higher activity of central regulation circuit and lower activity of regulation systems were observed. An increase in performance success corresponded to quicker task solution with longer duration of acute stress. Our results suggest that simultaneous interpreting changes the functional states of interpreters significantly and promotes the development of stress that can be monitored and registered objectively.
This work was partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Humanities, grant number _a and RFBR, grant number _a
6-17