| Affiliations: | College of Engineering and Computer Science |
| Team Leader: |
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| Faculty Mentor: |
Mustapha Mouloua, PhD
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Team Size:
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20 |
| Open Spots: | 10 |
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Team Member Qualifications:
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Essential Requirements: CITI Training Certification (or willingness to complete it immediately upon acceptance) Human Subjects Research training must be completed before beginning work with participants Training typically takes 3-4 hours and is available online Commitment to In-Person Lab Work Must be available for regular, scheduled in-person data collection sessions Reliable attendance is critical as sessions involve human participants and specialized equipment Flexibility to accommodate participant scheduling needs Professional Conduct Punctual and dependable Respectful and culturally sensitive when working with diverse participants Ability to maintain confidentiality and follow ethical research protocols Professional communication with team members and research participants Willingness to Learn New Skills Open to training in EEG/neurophysiological data collection Eager to learn statistical analysis techniques and research software Interest in developing expertise in psycholinguistics, cognitive neuroscience, and experimental methods Receptive to feedback and continuous improvement All Disciplines Welcome: This research project welcomes undergraduate students from ANY major or field of study. Whether you're in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business, or any other discipline, you can contribute meaningfully to this research. We will provide comprehensive training in all technical skills needed, including: EEG equipment setup and operation Participant recruitment and data collection procedures Data analysis and statistical methods Research ethics and best practices AI speech generation and stimulus development Physiological measurement techniques |
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Description:
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This research investigates why monolingual listeners experience psychological discomfort when processing accented speech, even when comprehension remains intact. We propose that monolingual listeners process accented speech using mechanisms similar to bilingual language switching, creating a state of cognitive dissonance when phonological expectations are violated. Through a comprehensive multi-modal study combining EEG, physiological measures, facial expression analysis, and behavioral assessments, we examine whether accent processing activates parallel phonological systems in monolinguals and whether this creates measurable cognitive dissonance. Despite having normal hearing and adequate language comprehension abilities, monolingual listeners consistently report increased mental effort, fatigue, and discomfort when processing foreign-accented speech. This phenomenon extends beyond simple acoustic challenges—listeners experience genuine psychological distress that resembles cognitive dissonance, the mental discomfort arising from contradictory beliefs or expectation violations. Current research has documented these processing difficulties but lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework explaining why accented speech creates such profound psychological discomfort and how monolinguals manage competing phonological patterns. We propose that monolingual listeners process accented speech by activating parallel phonological systems, similar to how bilinguals manage different languages. When listening to accented speech, monolinguals must simultaneously maintain their native phonological expectations while accommodating non-native pronunciation patterns. This creates cognitive conflict that manifests as cognitive dissonance—psychological discomfort arising from the mismatch between expected and actual speech patterns. This framework bridges research on accent processing, bilingual language switching, and cognitive dissonance theory. Research Questions 1. Do bilinguals process accents differently from monolinguals? We hypothesize that bilinguals' experience managing multiple phonological systems provides cognitive advantages when processing accented speech. 2. Do monolinguals process accents using language-like mechanisms? We predict that accent switching in monolinguals produces neural signatures similar to language switching in bilinguals, including enhanced N200/P300 responses and behavioral switch costs. 3. Does one accent cause higher cognitive effort than others? We expect a gradient effect where familiarity predicts processing difficulty: American < British < Indian < Mandarin < Arabic < Russian. 4. Does one accent cause more discomfort than others? We hypothesize that less familiar accents produce greater physiological arousal and negative affective responses. 5. Is this discomfort an extension of cognitive dissonance? We predict that expectation violations in accented speech trigger cognitive dissonance mechanisms, evidenced by enhanced neural responses, physiological arousal, and dissonance reduction behaviors. |