Is there an association between a speaker's position on the schizotypy continuum and the rate of disfluencies in running speech?

Abstract

The production of speech is a highly complex process, and speakers typically produce 6 errors per 100 words. Previous research addressing the cause of such errors has largely overlooked the idea that personality may be associated with disfluencies in speech, despite evidence that those with schizophrenia and other thought disorders exhibit odd speech characteristics. 73 participants between the ages of 19 and 78 completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and two running speech tasks: a commentary task during a five minute segment of a silent film, and a recall task following another five minute segment. Speech data was transcribed and disfluencies were counted, and the rate of disfluencies calculated. Correlative statistics revealed no correlation between the total SPQ score and the rate of disfluencies, however there was a significant negative correlation between the score on the SPQ and the rate of disfluencies on the recall task (N=73, r=.251, p<.05). Additionally, a significant task effect was observed, with participants demonstrating increased disfluencies on the recall task compared to the commentary task, and a proportionately higher rate of hesitations compared to repairs on the recall task. A more accurate means of analysing the SPQ and detailed acoustic analysis of disfluencies are required in this field of research to further the understanding of the cause of disfluencies in speech.