Oral Presentations
Location
Schewel 208
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Entry Number
17
Start Date
4-6-2022 9:15 AM
End Date
4-6-2022 9:30 AM
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Prior research has shown that listeners may hold a variety of negative attitudes towards individuals with speech or language disorders, such as beliefs that they are lower in intelligence, friendliness, or competence. These studies have suggested that attitudes tend to vary based on the type and severity of the disorder, but results are inconclusive on specific communication characteristics impacting perceptions. The present study measured participants’ attitudes towards an actor portraying either a fluency, articulation, or voice disorder. The between-subjects design involved participants being randomly assigned to listen to one of the three disorder conditions and then completing scales measuring their beliefs about the speaker’s warmth and competence, credibility, intelligence, and desired social distance. A one-way analysis of variance partially supported the hypothesis of a main effect of communication disorder type on personality ratings for the variables of verbal intelligence and social distance. Individuals in the lisp condition gave significantly lower verbal intelligence ratings, and individuals in the hoarseness of voice condition desired significantly more distance from the speaker. Personal contact with an individual with a communication disorder did not have a significant effect on attitude ratings. The results suggest that not all attitude dimensions may be impacted by the presence of communication disorders; however, some negative attitudes do exist towards this population. Implications for potential anti-bias training is discussed, with a focus on the perceptions of verbal intelligence and desired social distance.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Ei Hlaing
Rights Statement
The right to download or print any portion of this material is granted by the copyright owner only for personal or educational use. The author/creator retains all proprietary rights, including copyright ownership. Any editing, other reproduction or other use of this material by any means requires the express written permission of the copyright owner. Except as provided above, or for any other use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.), you may not reproduce, republish, post, transmit or distribute any material from this web site in any physical or digital form without the permission of the copyright owner of the material.
The Effects of Communication Differences on Listeners' Attitudes of Warmth and Competence, Credibility, Intelligence, and Social Distance
Schewel 208
Prior research has shown that listeners may hold a variety of negative attitudes towards individuals with speech or language disorders, such as beliefs that they are lower in intelligence, friendliness, or competence. These studies have suggested that attitudes tend to vary based on the type and severity of the disorder, but results are inconclusive on specific communication characteristics impacting perceptions. The present study measured participants’ attitudes towards an actor portraying either a fluency, articulation, or voice disorder. The between-subjects design involved participants being randomly assigned to listen to one of the three disorder conditions and then completing scales measuring their beliefs about the speaker’s warmth and competence, credibility, intelligence, and desired social distance. A one-way analysis of variance partially supported the hypothesis of a main effect of communication disorder type on personality ratings for the variables of verbal intelligence and social distance. Individuals in the lisp condition gave significantly lower verbal intelligence ratings, and individuals in the hoarseness of voice condition desired significantly more distance from the speaker. Personal contact with an individual with a communication disorder did not have a significant effect on attitude ratings. The results suggest that not all attitude dimensions may be impacted by the presence of communication disorders; however, some negative attitudes do exist towards this population. Implications for potential anti-bias training is discussed, with a focus on the perceptions of verbal intelligence and desired social distance.