Frequency of Stuttering Following Repeated Unison Readings

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the decrease in stuttering which usually accompanies repeated oral readings of a passage (adaptation effect) requires the occurrence of stuttering, as is implied by almost all theories which have been advanced to explain the effect. Fifteen stutterers performed five relatively fluent readings of a 200-word passage in unison with an experimenter and a sixth reading independently. The amount of stuttering in the sixth reading was found to be essentially the same as in the sixth reading of an ordinary adaptation series by the same subjects. The inference was drawn that the adaptation effect is primarily adaptation to oral reading as such rather than to stuttering. It was suggested that the adaptation phenomenon results from rehearsal of the motor plan.