Walter L. Cullinan

Subgroups of stuttering children: Speech and voice reaction times, segmental durations, and naming latencies

Abstract Speech and voice reaction times, speech segment durations, and object-naming latencies were obtained from a group of nonstuttering children and two subgroups of stuttering children: one subgroup (“stuttering-plus”) consisting of those who needed special education services for problems in addition to stuttering, and the other subgroup (“stuttering-only”) whose only apparent problem was stuttering. The stuttering-plus children had significantly longer speech and voice reaction times and naming latencies than did the stuttering-only and nonstuttering children. The stuttering-only children differed from the nonstuttering children only in voice termination times. The three groups did not differ in speech segment durations or in the variability of such measures. The need for identifying and studying subgroups of stutterers is discussed.

Individual pitch functions and pitch-duration cross-dimensional matching

Eight young adult subjects scaled the auditory dimensions of duration and pitch using a modified method of numerical magnitude balance and adjustment of the stimuli for individual equal-loudness differences. Individual duration and pitch functions for magnitude estimation and for magnitude production fit the power law well. When compared with the revised reel scale and the pitch function obtained by S. S. Stevens and Galanter (Journal of Experimental psychology, 1957,54, 377–411), the group magnitude estimation and magnitude production pitch functions plotted in log-log coordinates showed high degrees of linearity. This was due mostly to the absence of a rollover in the high-frequency range of the continuum. It was hypothesized that pitch may be viewed as a linear function. This hypothesis was further supported when the exponents of the pitch and duration functions were used to predict closely the group exponent of cross-dimension matches.

Consistency measures revisited

Abstract Stuttering consistency measures suggested 25 yr ago are reexamined and new data are provided. Problems with the maximum difference measure as frequency of stuttering increases are discussed. The recently proposed “recurrence ratio” is shown to be a restatement of the earlier weighted percentage measure. High correlations of consistency scores with level of stuttering severity continue to be of interest. Use of the weighted percentage measure while testing significance of individual subject consistency performance in the manner suggested for the maximum difference or normal deviate measures may be the most acceptable procedure.

An Empirical Perspective on Language Development and Language Training

Publisher Summary This chapter describes an empirical perspective on language development and language training. Practices in language training would reflect the principles of the prevailing language theory. In simple terms of its preponderance in the language development literature, psycholinguistic theory has appeared to prevail in the past two decades. Moreover, some language practitioners have gallantly attempted to incorporate its theoretical principles in their practice. Language clinicians have kept perhaps one eye on theory, but certainly both hands busily engaged with the empirical realities of language training. Empirically, the essence of most language remediation efforts has reflected, perhaps unwittingly, the basic principles of Skinners analysis. Essentially, most clinicians have attempted, through various manipulations of environmental stimuli and consequences, to increase the likelihood that their client will respond appropriately in a like state of affairs in his natural environment. Several considerations of relevance to this interplay between language theory and language practice have evolved. It has endured relatively unchanged and continues to provide the stimulus for important conjectures and research about the behavioral processes that constitute language learning

Perception of vowel features in temporally segmented bursts of stop‐consonant CV's

Segments of the burst portions of stop‐consonant CVs, increasing in duration in 10‐msec steps from the burst onset, were identified by 18 listeners. The responses were analyzed for the correct identification of vowel features. Coarticulatory effects of the vowel on the burst were found to (1) occur early in the burst, (2) vary with consonant and vowel, and (3) vary with vowel feature. In general, however, front versus back tongue placement for the vowel was perceived correctly most often, tongue height next most often, and the tense versus lax feature least often. For some CVs, sufficient cues for above chance level of identification of a feature were contained during the shortest segments of the burst. The results lend support to the point of view, in the case of unvoiced stops, that listeners can narrow the choice of the following vowel to a small number of alternatives prior to the beginning of the formant transitions or voicing.