Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Degree Granting Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Major Professor

Nathan Maxfield, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Supraja Anand, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer Jones Lister, Ph.D.

Keywords

comprehension, integration, self-report, fluency

Abstract

Purpose: Development of communication-focused therapy for people who stutter requires better understanding of how stuttering impacts oral comprehension. One aim was to investigate how stuttering impacts listeners’ ability to integrate syntax and world knowledge (plausibility) in sentence processing. A second aim was to investigate how listener factors predict ability to integrate information in sentences with stuttering.

Methods: 224 adults heard 24 experimental sentences interspersed with 24 fillers. Experimental sentences included six plausible double-object dative (DO) constructions, six plausible prepositional dative (PD) constructions, six implausible DO constructions, and six implausible PD constructions. Implausible constructions served as analogues of communication breakdowns. Half the listeners heard the sentences without stuttering and half heard them with stuttering. Yes/no questions determined whether participants interpreted sentences based on literal syntax or world knowledge. Participants self-rated their cognitive, communication, and hearing abilities. Participants in the With Stuttering group also self-rated their familiarity with stuttering.

Results: Plausible constructions were interpreted based on literal syntax more often than implausible constructions. Listeners hearing sentences With Stuttering relied on world knowledge to interpret implausible PD constructions more often than listeners hearing sentences Without Stuttering; an opposite trend was observed for implausible DO constructions. For listeners hearing sentences With Stuttering, some difficulty hearing predicted greater reliance on world knowledge to interpret implausible DO and plausible PD sentences.

Conclusions: Listeners hearing implausible sentences With Stuttering were more likely to rely on world knowledge for handling misinterpretations when that involved assuming extraneous information was present that could be ignored (as in implausible PD constructions) but not when that involved assuming information was missing that could be added (as in implausible DO constructions), although some difficulty hearing difficulty facilitated the latter. Some difficulty hearing also drove greater reliance on world knowledge to interpret more complex constructions (plausible PD) with stuttering. Potential clinical implications are discussed.

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