2024 Turn-taking in online interactions between people who do and do not stutter

Speech seems to effortlessly flow in conversation, with interlocutors timing their utterances based on predictions about the other’s speech ([1, 2]). While turn-taking has been well-studied in typical speakers (e.g., [3, 4, 5]), less attention has been given to populations with atypical speech such as people who stutter (PWS). PWS often experience involuntary syllable repetitions, prolongations, and so-called ‘blocks’ during which speakers are unable to produce sounds. These disfluencies could make their speech less predictable, potentially influencing turn-taking [6]. This study explores turn-taking in conversations with PWS in more detail, focussing on possible differences in turn-taking speed, speaking time, and the likelihood of being interrupted compared to typical speakers.

Twenty conversations were analysed: ten between typical speakers (Mage = 29.7), and ten between typical-PWS pairs (Mage = 32.8). PWS were self-identified. Speakers participated in a Diapix spot-the-differences task [7] over Zoom. For each of the two rounds, one participant was the leader starting the description, and the other participant the follower.

Preliminary results showed that the leader’s turns were longer and role also influenced the type of overlap (automatically coded). We found no evidence for a difference in turn-taking speed, nor for a difference between turn duration or type of overlap between the different speaker groups. These results indicate that negative experiences by PWS could possibly be overcome by giving people clear roles in interactions. Future research could explore this further by using manual coding and investigating the relationship between stuttering severity and turn-taking.

References

[1] Roelofs, A., & Ferreira, V. S. (2019). The architecture of speaking. Human language: From genes and brains to behavior, 35-50.
[2] Meyer, A. S. (2023). Timing in conversation. Journal of Cognition, 6(1).
[3] Heldner, M., & Edlund, J. (2010). Pauses, gaps and overlaps in conversations. Journal of Phonetics, 38(4), 555-568.
[4] Templeton, E. M., Chang, L. J., Reynolds, E. A., Cone LeBeaumont, M. D., & Wheatley, T. (2022). Fast response times signal social connection in conversation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(4), e2116915119.
[5] Bögels, S., Kendrick, K. H., & Levinson, S. C. (2015). Never say no… How the brain interprets the pregnant pause in conversation. PloS one, 10(12), e014547.
[6] Freud, D., Moria, L., Ezrati-Vinacour, R., & Amir, O. (2016). Turn-taking behaviors during interaction with adults-who-stutter. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 28, 509-522.
[7] Baker, R., & Hazan, V. (2011). DiapixUK: task materials for the elicitation of multiple spontaneous speech dialogs. Behavior research methods, 43, 761-770.