Amplifying Sound Intensity of Key Words in Discourse Promotes Memory in Female College Students

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether amplification of key words in discourse helped to memorize the words. Method: We tested the effect of 135 participants' memory for key words in the discourse after intensity amplification (0, 5, 7, 9, and 11 dB), and we also tested physiological indicators to measure attention levels in another 30 participants. Adobe Audition was used to modulate the intensity of key words, whereas E-prime technology was used to present speech stimuli and test the accuracy of the memory of the participants. Results: The results showed that amplifying key word intensity by 9 dB led to a significant enhancement in memory, whereas there was no difference in self-reported naturalness between amplification of key word intensity in the 9 dB and nonamplified groups. Heart rate and skin conductance level of the subjects decreased with amplification of key word intensity in the 9-dB group, which indicated that this promoted the memory effect by enhancing attention. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that amplifying the intensity of the key words by 9 dB is an effective strategy for promoting memory. This research provides a theoretical basis for optimizing the acoustic parameters of audio learning materials to achieve better teaching effects. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27902643