Emphasis in Speech: The Individual’s Perspective

Thikra Mohammad, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in English Linguistics and minor in Speech Language Pathology

My independent study research class has been one of the most beneficial and challenging courses I have ever taken in my college career. The research stood out with a lot of practical tools and concepts I learned over the past year. I worked on a group project all semester with other college students, trying our absolute best to gather data, with our English Linguistics professor alongside us helping us every step of the way.

When this research first began, I didn't know what to expect. I had never taken an independent study before, and I worked with a professor on researching empathy and how it intertwines with our ability to perceive and comprehend the emotions conveyed through speech.

It was so interesting to investigate how our tendency to hear or distinguish between how people emphasize words during speech may be related to particular character traits. As time passed and we reached our maximum number of participants to volunteer to take the study in our research lab, it was a surreal feeling. I remember telling my parents how it was a very different feeling than completing most of my classes after finalizing the research. It was a feeling like no other, knowing that you worked so hard, trying to find participants that fit the criteria of only native English-speaking individuals and having a total of 100 volunteers. I had accomplished something I never saw myself doing the last 3 years or even back when I was in high school.

This research was so cool to see the intriguing relationship between empathy and speech perception, but it mainly focused on how individual differences in perspective-taking abilities shape the sensitivity to vocal emphasis. It took a lot of time and effort to make this research successful and possible for all of us to present at the undergraduate conference.

The purpose of this capstone was to show compelling insights into the interplay between empathy and speech perception. The positive correlation observed between perspective-taking abilities and sensitivity to vocal emphasis underscores the pivotal role of empathy in facilitating accurate interpretation of what are called prosodic cues.

In the present study, we tested for a relationship between empathy; an aspect of personality, and cognitive processing style and emphasis. We found that individual differences in empathy were predictive in the perception of emphasis. It was estimated using measures of emotion recognition, and emphasis was operationalized as the height of pitch levels on words, in what is known as Words with Sentenced Stress. This shows that empathy may be an important source of individual differences in perceiving and understanding spoken language.

This research project was a major turning point in my undergraduate experience and was both demanding and enlightening. Working with classmates and a dedicated professor brought richness to the experience, and as a capstone course, it offered an environment for putting learned principles into practice. Investigating the relationship between speech perception and empathy provided exciting new insights into the dynamics of human communication. The results of participant recruitment, study design, and data analysis demonstrated how important empathy is in influencing how we interpret spoken language. This study reflects my progress and perseverance during my time in college and adds to the academic conversation as well as being a personal accomplishment.

What is Tau?

Mehnoor Khan, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in English Literature

 

BIO 594 was my first time taking an independent study, and I was a bit nervous but mostly excited! This class established an understanding of Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies.

Let's discuss tauopathies, especially Tau. What is Tau? Tau is a phosphoprotein, and the degree of phosphorylation is significant. Under normal circumstances, Tau contains 2-3 moles of phosphate. However, when Tau gets hyperphosphorylated, it has more than seven moles of phosphate per mole of protein, eventually losing the ability to perform its critical function. Furthermore, it can attach to normal Tau and sequester it from microtubules.

Tau is the primary biological function that promotes microtubule self-assembly by tubulin. It's not surprising that Tau's post-translational modifications have been categorized for toxic functionality. This is important because Tau has shown wonders in cognitive processes, yet it could give rise to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's if it's not properly regulated.

In my Independent Study, I had the opportunity to see the lab images firsthand. Almost every week I would meet with my professor and learn a new lab technique needed to interpret the lab data sent to me. Many processes were involved, and I had to be detail-oriented. After mastering one lab technique, I would move on to the following images to perform another technique. Every image was different from the other, and overall it was a captivating experience. To see all the lab images, I needed to use Image J, a software that would help me see the images clearer. After performing the techniques, I would plot the data on an excel spreadsheet. This helped me analyze my data and showed what the vision meant for progression in research.

I'm proud of all I have accomplished. Throughout this journey of becoming a better researcher, I learned about different microscopes, like the confocal or the life imager. I learned the critical skill of transforming qualitative data into quantitative data. I truly enjoyed this independent study class, and I am forever grateful for all that I have learned.

Accepting The Challenge Of Undergraduate Research

Shiney David, a Verrazano Psychology major, has been doing research for independent study as part of her Verrazano course requirement.  Below, Shiney shares more about the research she's involved in and what she has learned from the experience.

Shiney David outside the lab

My name is Shiney David, I’m a Psychology major with a future goal of becoming a successful physical therapist. In order to fulfill my Verrazano course requirement and to receive my remaining three credits to graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology, I decided to enroll in an independent research study with Professor Bertram Ploog. Professor Ploog’s research focuses on behavioral animal models to study abnormal attention patterns in children with autism. His particular field of interest was very appealing to me because my career goal is to become a physical therapist specializing in pediatrics.

Professor Ploog's current research, the project that I'm involved in, focuses on analyzing effects of taurine, a dietary supplement, on learning and memory.  In this research, the aim is to measure the improvement in memory and learning in aged pigeons that are treated with the taurine supplement.  Previous research has found taurine to act as an an agonist (a substance that binds to a receptor to induce a biochemical response) of GABA receptors in the central nervous system.  GABA is the most abundant inhibitory transmitter which is responsible for cognitive flexibility.  Furthermore, it has been found that taurine supplements lead to an increase in GABA levels.  If taurine increases the level of this neurotransmitter, then age-related brain dysfunction could be minimized and treated substantially and successfully.  Keeping these theories in mind, Professor Ploog created a paradigm where he divided a group of pigeons into three sets of four.  The first set was a group of young pigeons that were not treated with taurine, the second set was a group of old pigeons that were also not treated with taurine, and the third set was a group of old pigeons treated with taurine.  The first two sets served as control groups for this experiment.  My tasks involved bringing each set to the experiment room, placing them in the chambers, and running the test.  Once all sets were run, I had to weigh the birds and feed them according to their weights.  At the present moment, all the data that's critical to have for my paper has been collected.  I am in the process of analyzing it and am really curious to see whether any positive effects of taurine on learning and memory can be yielded.  

For my last undergraduate course, I wanted to challenge myself in a way that could prepare me for the graduate program I will be starting this fall.  As expected, this research experience transcended all the knowledge I had acquired over the past three years.  This course exposed me to methodological techniques that helped me polish up my analytical thinking and organizational abilities, along with my writing and problem-solving skills.  This opportunity also taught me how to engage in the creation of new knowledge on the cutting edge of an academic discipline.  As the course has come to an end, I believe that I can now confidently apply the skills and knowledge acquired to real-world problems when needed.  For students who are thinking about taking a research course during their undergraduate career, I would like to say that it is an amazing opportunity that one should not miss.  A research course will teach you the skills that you might not learn in a regular classroom environment.  Although you may face some difficulties, in the near future you will be very grateful for the experience.

Mentoring On Campus Through Project REACH

Erica Golin, a Pyschology major in the Verrazano Class of 2015, has been working with Project REACH on campus this semester as part of an independent study course.  Read below for more about her experience, in her own words. 

Erica Golin

Hi! My name is Erica Golin and I’m a Verrazano sophomore studying psychology. I have had a very enriching experience this semester doing an independent study. My work is with Project REACH, a program at the College of Staten Island that provides mentorship to students who are on the autism spectrum or have other disabilities. This program is affiliated with the Center for Student Accessibility, which is an office on campus that provides services to students with disabilities.

I mentor three CSI students a week who are autistic or have another diagnosis. Autism is spectrum disorder, which means that it can range from very mild to very severe, and it is typically characterized by difficulty in social situations, impairment in communication, and a restricted pattern of behavior and interests. When I meet with my students, we discuss goals for the semester and how to reach those goals, such as getting better grades and increasing social skills. What I have learned so far from this opportunity is that autism is considered an “invisible disability,” meaning that you cannot just look at a person and tell they have it. People with invisible disabilities are often misunderstood because not everyone understands the implications of the disorders. Another part of my independent study is using Microsoft Excel to track data, which has taught me that data entry and paperwork are essential parts of psychology because information needs to be accounted for and analyzed in order to improve the human condition.

I feel honored to be a mentor, and I know that I am making a difference in the lives of my mentees. It is amazing how kind-hearted and determined people with disabilities are, and as a psychology student, I strive to better understand all people. I plan on continuing my work with Project REACH for the rest of my college career.