Attention and Stuttering: Differentiating Word-Form Encoding and Working Memory Differences in Adults Who Stutter

Abstract

Though motoric, linguistic, and emotional/temperamental factors are commonly thought to contribute to the persistence or development of the stuttering condition in children, how these factors interact to influence the occurrence of moments of stuttering are unclear. Accounting for attentional allocation allows for the differentiation of word-form encoding and working memory processes in adults who stutter. 40 adults who stutter and 42 adults who do not stutter completed three complex working memory span tasks (a working memory capacity measure). These tasks systematically varied in their word-form activation requirements according to psycholinguistic theory. Results indicate that adults who stutter demonstrate working memory capacity differences as a function of word-form encoding influences. These results and the dual-task nature of the tasks allow for the further specification of theories into the origins of moments of stuttering.