Effects of Time-Interval Judgment Training on Real-Time Measurement of Stuttering

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a previously developed interval-based training program could improve judges' stuttering event judgments. Two groups of judges made real-time stuttering event judgments (computer-mouse button presses) in 3 to 6 trials before the response-contingent judgment training program and in another 3 to 6 trials after training, for recordings of 9 adults who stuttered. Their judgments were analyzed in terms of number of stuttering events, duration of stuttering, and 5-s intervals of speech that could be categorized as judged (or not judged) to contain stuttering. Results showed (a) changes in the amount of stuttering identified by the judges; (b) improved correspondence between the judges' identifications of stuttering events and interval-based standards previously developed from judgments made by experienced, authoritative judges; (c) improved correspondence between interval-based analyses of the judges' stuttering judgments and the previously developed standards; (d) improved intrajudge agreement; (e) improved interjudge agreement; and (f) convergence between the 2 judge groups, for samples and speakers used during training tasks and also for other speakers. Some implications of these findings for developing standardized procedures for the real-time measurement of stuttering are discussed.