Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users, please click the view more button below to purchase a copy of this dissertation from Proquest.
(Some titles may also be available free of charge in our Open Access Dissertation Collection, so please check there first.)
Attentional cues during speech perception
Abstract
Temporally selective attention allows for the preferential processing of stimuli presented at particular times, and is reasoned to be important for processing rapidly presented information such as speech. Recent event-related potential (ERP) evidence demonstrates that listeners direct temporally selective attention to times that contain word onsets in speech. This may be an effective listening strategy since these moments provide critical information to the listener, but the mechanism that underlies this process remains unexplored. In three experiments, putative attention cues including word recognition and predictability were manipulated in both artificial and natural speech and ERP responses at various times were compared to determine how listeners selectively process word onsets in speech. The results demonstrate that listeners allocate attention to word-initial segments because they are less predictable than other times in the speech stream. Attending to unpredictable moments may improve spoken language comprehension by allowing listeners to glean the most relevant information from an otherwise overwhelming speech signal.
Subject Area
Neurosciences|Cognitive psychology
Recommended Citation
Best, Lori Astheimer, "Attentional cues during speech perception" (2011). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI3482585.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3482585