Velthuizen, Noor (2025) Say It Like You Mean It: Using Spoken Responses to Estimate Learning Success. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Adaptive learning systems rely on behavioural data such as accuracy scores and reaction times to estimate item-level memory strength. Previous research has shown that prosodic speech features can improve model estimations in adaptive learning systems beyond measures of accuracy and reaction times. The present study investigated whether prosodic features (intensity, speaking speed, average pitch and pitch change) can serve as indirect indicators of memory strength and subjective confidence during a sentence-based language learning task. Forty-eight native Dutch speakers studied and verbally retrieved subject-verb sentences in both Dutch and Italian. After each trial, participants rated their level of confidence about the response. Correlational analyses revealed that speaking speed showed the strongest associations with both accuracy and confidence, whereas intensity (loudness) was primarily associated with accuracy alone. The strength of these directions varied depending on whether participants responded in their native Dutch or in the unfamiliar Italian language. Low confident responses were associated with a rising pitch contour at the end of the utterance, a pattern also observed in incorrect responses. This same pattern was found for the incorrect responses. Notably, these findings were only observed in the native Dutch condition. The findings of this study suggest that prosodic speech features reflect both cognitive (memory strength) and metacognitive (subjective confidence) processes in language learning. This highlights the potential of incorporating real-time prosodic analysis into adaptive learning systems to improve the accuracy of memory strength estimations.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Sarampalis, A. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jul 2025 10:20 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Jul 2025 10:20 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5702 |
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