The Effect of a Modeled /r/ Articulatory Disorder on Listener Perceptions of Speech Skills and Personality Traits

Purpose: There has been little research regarding the perceptions of adults with an /r/ articu- latory disorder. The present study investigated students' perceptions of an individual who was either modeling an /r/ articulatory disorder or speaking normally. Method: A sample of 188 undergraduate students volunteered to participate in this study. They listened to an audiotape of an adult female speaker who was either modeling an /r/ articulatory disorder or speak- ing normally, then completed a questionnaire de- signed to assess their perceptions of the speaker. Results: The students viewed the speech of the indi- vidual who was modeling an /r/ articulatory disorder as significantly less fluent, less intelligible, less gram- matically correct, and having less appropriate levels of volume than the speech of the individual who perceptions, stereotypes, and stigmas about individu- als with speech disorders. There is a plethora of