The Influence of Initial and Final Precision on Motor Planning: Individual Differences in End-State Comfort During Unimanual Grasping and Placing

This study examines individual differences in producing the sibilant contrast in American English and the relation of those differences to 2 speaker characteristics: (a) use of a quantal biomechanical effect (called a "saturation effect") in producing the sibilants and (b) performance on a test of sibilant discrimination. Twenty participants produced the sibilants /s/ and /∫/ in normal-, clear-, and fast-speaking conditions. The degree to which the participants used a saturation effect in producing /s/ and /∫/ was assessed with a custom-made sensor that measured contact of the underside of the tongue tip with the lower alveolar ridge; such contact normally occurs during the production of /s/ but not /∫/. The acuteness of the participants' discrimination of the sibilant contrast was measured using the ABX paradigm and synthesized sibilants. Differences among speakers in the degree of acoustic contrast between /s/ and /∫/ that they produced proved related to differences among them in their use of contact contrastively and in their discriminative performance. The most distinct sibilant productions were obtained from participants who used contact in producing /s/ but not /∫/ and who had high discrimination scores. The participants who did not use contact differentially when producing the 2 sibilants and who also discriminated the synthetic sibilants less well produced the least distinct sibilant contrasts. Intermediate degrees of sibilant contrast were found with participants who used contact differentially or discriminated well. These findings are compatible with a model of speech motor planning in which goals for phonemic speech movements are in somatosensory and auditory spaces.

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The challenge of accounting for individual differences in folk-economic beliefs

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18000523 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Benjamin C. Ruisch ◽

Rajen A. Anderson ◽

David A. Pizarro

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Individual Variation ◽

Political Ideologies ◽

Economic Beliefs ◽

Existing Data

AbstractWe argue that existing data on folk-economic beliefs (FEBs) present challenges to Boyer & Petersen's model. Specifically, the widespread individual variation in endorsement of FEBs casts doubt on the claim that humans are evolutionarily predisposed towards particular economic beliefs. Additionally, the authors' model cannot account for the systematic covariance between certain FEBs, such as those observed in distinct political ideologies.

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Individual differences, social attention, and the history of the social motivation hypotheses of autism

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18002509 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Peter C. Mundy

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Early Development ◽

Emotional Development ◽

Social Motivation ◽

Social Attention ◽

Social Emotional Development ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Precise Understanding ◽

The Social ◽

History Of

Abstract The stereotype of people with autism as unresponsive or uninterested in other people was prominent in the 1980s. However, this view of autism has steadily given way to recognition of important individual differences in the social-emotional development of affected people and a more precise understanding of the possible role social motivation has in their early development.

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Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18000274 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

Author(s):

Kevin Arceneaux

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

History Of ◽

Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

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Inter-individual variation shapes the human microbiome

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x1800287x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Emily F. Wissel ◽

Leigh K. Smith

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Individual Variation ◽

Human Microbiome ◽

Individual Variability ◽

Microbiota Composition ◽

Target Article ◽

Microbiome Research

Abstract The target article suggests inter-individual variability is a weakness of microbiota-gut-brain (MGB) research, but we discuss why it is actually a strength. We comment on how accounting for individual differences can help researchers systematically understand the observed variance in microbiota composition, interpret null findings, and potentially improve the efficacy of therapeutic treatments in future clinical microbiome research.

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Why Speech-Language Clinicians Should Be in the Classroom

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.2204.277 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 277-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sharon L. Wadle

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Task Analysis ◽

Regular Classroom ◽

Classroom Setting ◽

Therapy Room

Lack of training is only an excuse for not collaborating outside of the therapy room. With our present training, speech-language clinicians have many skills to share in the regular classroom setting. This training has provided skills in task analysis, a language focus, an appreciation and awareness of individual differences in learning, and motivational techniques.

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Group Experiences and Individual Differences in Stuttering

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-19-00138 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (12) ◽

pp. 4335-4350 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Seth E. Tichenor ◽

J. Scott Yaruss

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Support Groups ◽

Support Group ◽

Affective States ◽

Life Outcomes ◽

Self Help ◽

Wide Range ◽

Group Experiences ◽

History Of ◽

Adults Who Stutter

Purpose This study explored group experiences and individual differences in the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings perceived by adults who stutter. Respondents' goals when speaking and prior participation in self-help/support groups were used to predict individual differences in reported behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Method In this study, 502 adults who stutter completed a survey examining their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in and around moments of stuttering. Data were analyzed to determine distributions of group and individual experiences. Results Speakers reported experiencing a wide range of both overt behaviors (e.g., repetitions) and covert behaviors (e.g., remaining silent, choosing not to speak). Having the goal of not stuttering when speaking was significantly associated with more covert behaviors and more negative cognitive and affective states, whereas a history of self-help/support group participation was significantly associated with a decreased probability of these behaviors and states. Conclusion Data from this survey suggest that participating in self-help/support groups and having a goal of communicating freely (as opposed to trying not to stutter) are associated with less negative life outcomes due to stuttering. Results further indicate that the behaviors, thoughts, and experiences most commonly reported by speakers may not be those that are most readily observed by listeners.

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A Phonomotor Approach to Apraxia of Speech Treatment

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00116 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 2109-2130

Author(s):

Lauren Bislick

Keyword(s):

Phase I ◽

Treatment Effects ◽

Single Case ◽

Motor Planning ◽

The Other ◽

Multimodal Approach ◽

Apraxia Of Speech ◽

Duration Of Treatment ◽

Treatment Gains ◽

Future Work

Purpose This study continued Phase I investigation of a modified Phonomotor Treatment (PMT) Program on motor planning in two individuals with apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia and, with support from prior work, refined Phase I methodology for treatment intensity and duration, a measure of communicative participation, and the use of effect size benchmarks specific to AOS. Method A single-case experimental design with multiple baselines across behaviors and participants was used to examine acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of treatment effects 8–10 weeks posttreatment. Treatment was distributed 3 days a week, and duration of treatment was specific to each participant (criterion based). Experimental stimuli consisted of target sounds or clusters embedded nonwords and real words, specific to each participants' deficit. Results Findings show improved repetition accuracy for targets in trained nonwords, generalization to targets in untrained nonwords and real words, and maintenance of treatment effects at 10 weeks posttreatment for one participant and more variable outcomes for the other participant. Conclusions Results indicate that a modified version of PMT can promote generalization and maintenance of treatment gains for trained speech targets via a multimodal approach emphasizing repeated exposure and practice. While these results are promising, the frequent co-occurrence of AOS and aphasia warrants a treatment that addresses both motor planning and linguistic deficits. Thus, the application of traditional PMT with participant-specific modifications for AOS embedded into the treatment program may be a more effective approach. Future work will continue to examine and maximize improvements in motor planning, while also treating anomia in aphasia.

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