Effects of Random and Response Contingent Noise upon Disfluencies of Normal Speakers
Robert H. Brookshire · Journal of Speech and Hearing Research · 1969
Twenty normal speakers read a passage during a 30-min session divided into Baserate (5 min), Conditioning (15 min), and Extinction (10 min). Each read in Random Condition and Contingent Condition. During Conditioning in Random Condition, subjects received 0.75 sec, 95 dB bursts of white noise according to a random schedule. During Conditioning in Contingent Condition, subjects received a burst of 95 dB white noise each time they were disfluent. Ten subjects (Group RC) read in Random Condition on one day and in Contingent Condition on a subsequent day. The other 10 subjects read in the opposite order of conditions on the two days. Results indicated that the effects of random and contingent noise were influenced by the order of conditions. Random aversive stimuli caused increases in disfluency for subjects in both groups. Response contingent aversive stimuli caused a decrement in disfluency for subjects in Group CR, but not for subjects in Group RC. Analysis of poststimulus disfluency indicated that random aversive stimuli caused disorganization of the speech of subjects in Group RC.