Article in:
Target: Online-First Articles

Time pressure in translation

Psychological and physiological measures

| Durham University
| Durham University
| Zhejiang University
Translators may experience significant psychological and physiological responses to time pressure. This study examines such responses with the aim of identifying valid indicators of time pressure in written translation. Forty-five postgraduates participated in the study, translating three comparable English texts into Chinese under three time conditions (Short, Standard, and Free). A positive relation between time stringency and the arousal level detected by a set of self-reporting and biomarker measures was hypothesised. The hypothesis was corroborated by results derived from participants’ self-reporting on stress and anxiety, and the biomarkers of heart rate, blood pressure, and pupil dilation, but not by skin temperature, galvanic skin response (GSR), and heart rate variability (HRV). Thus, the measures that confirm the hypothesis are considered successful indicators of time pressure in translation. In addition, an inverted ‘U-shaped’ pattern was observed in the relation between time stringency and the arousal level indexed by GSR and HRV. These findings may facilitate research and training in translation and other cognitively demanding language-processing activities.
Keywords: time pressure, stress measurement, written translation, psychometric instrument, physiological stress response
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Methodological considerations
    • 1.2Existing translation and interpreting research on time pressure or stress
    • 1.3The present study
  • 2.Method
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Materials
    • 2.3Time constraints
    • 2.4Apparatus
    • 2.5Procedure
    • 2.6Data processing and analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Psychological measures
    • 3.2Physiological measures
    • 3.3Correlations among the psychological and physiological measures
    • 3.4Results from the trimmed dataset
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1Psychological effects
    • 4.2Physiological effects
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 January 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.20148.wen
References
Alves, Fabio, and Tânia Liparini Campos
2009 “Translation Technology in Time: Investigating the Impact of Translation Memory Systems and Time Pressure on Types of Internal and External Support.” In Behind the Mind: Methods, Models and Results in Translation Process Research, edited by Susanne Göpferich, Arnt Lykke Jakobsen, and Inger M. Mees, 191–218. Frederiksberg: Samfundslitteratur.Google Scholar
Angelone, Erik
2010 “Uncertainty, Uncertainty Management and Metacognitive Problem Solving in the Translation Task.” In Translation and Cognition, edited by Gregory M. Shreve and Erik Angelone, 17–40. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Baghi, Hoorieh, and Masood Khoshsaligheh
2019 “Stress in Written and Sight Translation in Training Setting.” Hikma 18 (2): 237–255. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bakdash, Jonathan Z., and Laura R. Marusich
2017 “Repeated Measures Correlation.” Frontiers in Psychology 81: 1–13. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bates, Douglas, Martin Mächler, Ben Bolker, and Steve Walker
2015 “Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lmer4.” Journal of Statistical Software 67 (1): 1–48. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bayer-Hohenwarter, Gerrit
2009 “Methodological Reflections on the Experimental Design of Time-Pressure Studies.” Across Languages and Cultures 10 (2): 193–206. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Benedek, Mathias, and Christian Kaernbach
2010 “A Continuous Measure of Phasic Electrodermal Activity.” Journal of Neuroscience Methods 190 (1): 80–91. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chiang, Yung-Nan
2009 “Foreign Language Anxiety in Taiwanese Student Interpreters.” Meta 54 (3): 605–621. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2010 “Foreign Language Anxiety and Student Interpreters’ Learning Outcomes: Implications for the Theory and Measurement of Interpretation Learning Anxiety.” Meta 55 (3): 589–601. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, Cary L., Rachel Davies, and Rosalie L. Tung
1982 “Interpreting Stress: Sources of Job Stress among Conference Interpreters.” Multilingua 1 (2): 97–107. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Critchley, Hugo D.
2002 “Review: Electrodermal Responses: What Happens in the Brain.” The Neuroscientist 8 (2): 132–142. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Daviu, Nuria, Michael R. Bruchas, Bita Moghaddam, Carmen Sandi, and Anna Beyeler
2019 “Neurobiological Links between Stress and Anxiety.” In Stress Neurobiology Workshop 2018, edited by Lawrence Reagan, Richard Hunter, and Matthew N. Hill, special issue of Neurobiology of Stress 111: 1–9. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Fink, George
ed. 2007 Encyclopedia of Stress. 2nd ed. Amsterdam: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Ghobadi, Mehdi, Golnaz Madadi, and Bahareh Najafian
2017 “A Study of the Effects of Time Pressure on Translation Quantity and Quality.” International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies 5 (2): 7–13. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, Gyde
2006 “Time Pressure in Translation Teaching and Translation Studies.” In Interdisciplinarité en Traduction: Proceedings of the IInd International Colloquium on Translation organised by Yildiz Technical University, vol. II1, edited by Sündüz Öztürk Kasar, 71–80. Istanbul: Les Éditions Isis.Google Scholar
Hart, Sandra G., and Lowell E. Staveland
1988 “Development of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index): Results of Empirical and Theoretical Research.” In Human Mental Workload, edited by Peter A. Hancock and Najmedin Meshkati, 139–183. Amsterdam: Elsevier. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jankowiak, Katarzyna, and Paweł Korpal
2018 “On Modality Effects in Bilingual Emotional Language Processing: Evidence from Galvanic Skin Response.” Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 47 (3): 663–677. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, J. Richard
2007 “Heart Rate.” In Fink 2007, 274–277. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, Astrid, and Arnt Lykke Jakobsen
2000 “Translating under Time Pressure: An Empirical Investigation of Problem-Solving Activity and Translation Strategies by Non-professional and Professional Translators.” In Translation in Context: Selected Contributions from the EST Congress, Granada 1998, edited by Andrew Chesterman, Natividad Gallardo San Salvador, and Yves Gambier, 105–116. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, Kristian Tangsgaard Hvelplund
2009 “Indicators of Text Complexity.” In Behind the Mind: Methods, Models and Results in Translation Process Research, edited by Susanne Göpferich, Arnt Lykke Jakobsen, and Inger M. Mees, 61–80. Frederiksberg: Samfundslitteratur.Google Scholar
Kao, Po-Chi, and Philip Craigie
2013 “Evaluating Student Interpreters’ Stress and Coping Strategies.” Social Behavior and Personality 41 (6): 1035–1043. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Klonowicz, Tatiana
1994 “Putting One’s Heart into Simultaneous Interpretation.” In Bridging the Gap: Empirical Research in Simultaneous Interpretation, edited by Sylvie Lambert and Barbara Moser-Mercer, 213–224. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Korpal, Paweł
2016 “Interpreting as a Stressful Activity: Physiological Measures of Stress in Simultaneous Interpreting.” In Language Processing in Translation, edited by Bogusława Whyatt, special issue of Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 52 (2): 297–316. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Korpal, Paweł, and Aleksandra Jasielska
2019 “Investigating Interpreters’ Empathy: Are Emotions in Simultaneous Interpreting Contagious?” Target 31 (1): 2–24. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kurz, Ingrid
2002 “Physiological Stress Responses during Media and Conference Interpreting.” In Interpreting in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities, edited by Giuliana Garzone and Maurizio Viezzi, 195–202. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2003 “Physiological Stress During Simultaneous Interpreting: A Comparison of Experts and Novices.” The Interpreters’ Newsletter 121: 51–67.Google Scholar
Kuznetsova, Alexandra, Per B. Brockhoff, and Rune Haubo Bojesen Christensen
2017 “lmerTest Package: Tests in Linear Mixed Effects Models.” Journal of Statistical Software 82 (13): 1–26. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kyriakou, Kalliopi, Bernd Resch, Günther Sagl, Andreas Petutschnig, Christian Werner, David Niederseer, Michael Liedlgruber, Frank H. Wilhelm, Tess Osborne, and Jessica Pykett
2019 “Detecting Moments of Stress from Measurements of Wearable Physiological Sensors.” Sensors 19 (17): 1–26. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lazarus, Richard S.
1976 Patterns of Adjustment. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Luque-Casado, Antonio, José C. Perales, David Cárdenas, and Daniel Sanabria
2016 “Heart Rate Variability and Cognitive Processing: The Autonomic Response to Task Demands.” Biological Psychology 1131: 83–90. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Maule, A. John, and G. Robert J. Hockey
1993 “State, Stress, and Time Pressure.” In Time Pressure and Stress in Human Judgment and Decision Making, edited by Ola Svenson and A. John Maule, 83–101. New York: Plenum Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McCarty, Richard
2007 “Fight-or-Flight Response.” In Fink 2007, 62–64. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Minkel, Jared, and Samantha Phillips
2015 “Methodological Considerations When Integrating Experimental Manipulations of Sleep and Emotion.” In Sleep and Affect, edited by Kimberly A. Babson and Matthew T. Feldner, 119–138. London: Academic Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Moser-Mercer, Barbara
2005 “Remote Interpreting: The Crucial Role of Presence.” Bulletin VALS-ASLA (Swiss Association of Applied Linguistics) 811: 73–97.Google Scholar
Moser-Mercer, Barbara, Alexander Künzli, and Marina Korac
1998 “Prolonged Turns in Interpreting: Effects on Quality, Physiological and Psychological Stress (Pilot Study).” Interpreting 3 (1): 47–64. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Nourbakhsh, Nargess, Fang Chen, Yang Wang, and Rafael A. Calvo
2017 “Detecting Users’ Cognitive Load by Galvanic Skin Response with Affective Interference.” ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems 7 (3): 1–20. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Paas, Fred, Juhani E. Tuovinen, Huib Tabbers, and Pascal W. M. Van Gerven
2003 “Cognitive Load Measurement as a Means to Advance Cognitive Load Theory.” Educational Psychologist 38 (1): 63–71. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Partala, Timo, and Veikko Surakka
2003 “Pupil Size Variation as an Indication of Affective Processing.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 59 (1–2): 185–198. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pijeira-Díaz, Héctor J., Hendrik Drachsler, Paul A. Kirschner, and Sanna Järvelä
2018 “Profiling Sympathetic Arousal in a Physics Course: How Active Are Students?” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 34 (4): 397–408. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
R Core Team
2018 “R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing”. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Accessed December 1, 2021. https://​www​.R​-project​.org/
Rastegary, Haleh, and Frank J. Landy
1993 “The Interactions among Time Urgency, Uncertainty, and Time Pressure.” In Time Pressure and Stress in Human Judgment and Decision Making, edited by Ola Svenson and A. John Maule, 217–239. New York: Plenum Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Rojo, Ana, and Marina Ramos Caro
2016 “Can Emotion Stir Translation Skill? Defining the Impact of Positive and Negative Emotions on Translation Performance.” In Reembedding Translation Process Research, edited by Ricardo Muñoz Martín, 107–130. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Seeber, Kilian G.
2013 “Cognitive Load in Simultaneous Interpreting: Measures and Methods.” Target 25 (1): 18–32. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sharmin, Selina, Oleg Špakov, Kari-Jouko Räihä, and Arnt Lykke Jakobsen
2008 “Where and for How Long Do Translators Look at the Screen while Translating?” In Looking at Eyes: Eye-tracking Studies of Reading and Translation Processing, edited by Susanne Göpferich, Arnt Lykke Jakobsen, and ‎Inger M. Mees, 31–51. Frederiksberg: Samfundslitteratur.Google Scholar
Sherwood, Andrew, and Robert A. Carels
2007 “Blood Pressure.” In Fink 2007, 335–342. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Slavich, George M., Sara Taylor, and Rosalind W. Picard
2019 “Stress Measurement Using Speech: Recent Advancements, Validation Issues, and Ethical and Privacy Considerations.” Stress 22 (4): 408–413. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Spielberger, Charles D., Richard Gorsuch, Robert E. Lushene, Peter R. Vagg, and Gerard A. Jacobs
1983 Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Tarvainen, Mika P., Juha-Pekka Niskanen, Jukka A. Lipponen, Perttu O. Ranta-aho, and Pasi A. Karjalainen
2014 “Kubios HRV – Heart Rate Variability Analysis Software.” Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine 113 (1): 210–220. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wemm, Stephanie E., and Edelgard Wulfert
2017 “Effects of Acute Stress on Decision Making.” Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 42 (1): 1–12. CrossrefGoogle Scholar