Comprehension of Disfluency on Anxious Individuals
Past research has found that disfluency aids comprehension (Brennan & Schober, 2001). In addition, it has also been found that disfluency can signal different lengths of upcoming delay (Arnold, 2003; Fox Tree, 2001). On the other hand, studies that have examined the relationship between speech and anxiety have found that speech errors increase when state anxiety is increased (Harrigan, et al., 1994; Cook, 1969). The purpose of the current study is to examine whether disfluency from anxious individuals aids listener's comprehension. It was hypothesized that listeners would have comprehend more when disfluencies are present than when they are not and if they know nothing about the speaker. However, if they thought that the speaker is dealing with anxiety, disfluencies would then be less helpful. Participants' scores show that the disfluent condition was more readily understood than the fluent condition. However, the anxiety manipulation did not seem to be effective.
School:
California State University, Long Beach
Department:
Psychology
Research Advisor:
Duane Watson
Department of Research Advisor:
Psychology
Year of Publication:
2006