Reducing speech disfluencies during public speaking using brief habit reversal

Using brief habit reversal and an interdependent group contingency to reduce public‐speaking speech disfluencies

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis ◽

10.1002/jaba.867 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher J. Perrin ◽

Sarah A. Hensel ◽

Durie L. Lynch ◽

Lisa R. Gallegos ◽

Kendall Bell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Speaking ◽

Habit Reversal ◽

Group Contingency ◽

Interdependent Group Contingency

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Habit Reversal to Decrease Filled Pauses in Public Speaking: A Partial Replication

Research on Social Work Practice ◽

10.1177/1049731519894663 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 491-495

Author(s):

Christoph Bördlein ◽

Anja Sander

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Public Speaking ◽

Habit Reversal ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Partial Replication ◽

Systems Research ◽

Filled Pauses ◽

The Mean

Purpose: Many students have difficulties in public speaking because of their use of filled pauses (e.g., utterances like “um”; misuse of the word “like”). Mancuso and Miltenberger used habit reversal to decrease filled pauses in public speaking. The present study aimed at replicating this study as a student project. Method: Participants were four undergraduate students of social work. The training phase and total number of sessions were shortened compared to the original study. Results: The mean number of responses (filled pauses) per minute decreased throughout the study and during follow-up measurement. Discussion: Nevertheless, the replication of experimental control wasn’t successful because three of the four participants showed a decrease in response frequency already during the baseline. As a project, the study demonstrates that students of social work with only rudimentary training in single systems research methods can implement evidence-based practice procedures in their work with clients.

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Using habit reversal to decrease filled pauses in public speaking

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis ◽

10.1002/jaba.267 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 188-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Carolyn Mancuso ◽

Raymond G. Miltenberger

Keyword(s):

Public Speaking ◽

Habit Reversal ◽

Filled Pauses

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Aerodynamic and Acoustic Voice Measures Before and After an Acute Public Speaking Stressor

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00252 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (10) ◽

pp. 3311-3325

Author(s):

Brittany L. Perrine ◽

Ronald C. Scherer

Keyword(s):

Fundamental Frequency ◽

Salivary Cortisol ◽

Public Speaking ◽

Stress System ◽

Before And After ◽

Subglottal Pressure ◽

Response To Stress ◽

System Activation ◽

Speaking Fundamental Frequency ◽

Pituitary Adrenal Axis

Purpose The goal of this study was to determine if differences in stress system activation lead to changes in speaking fundamental frequency, average oral airflow, and estimated subglottal pressure before and after an acute, psychosocial stressor. Method Eighteen vocally healthy adult females experienced the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to activate the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. The TSST includes public speaking and performing mental arithmetic in front of an audience. At seven time points, three before the stressor and four after the stressor, the participants produced /pa/ repetitions, read the Rainbow Passage, and provided a saliva sample. Measures included (a) salivary cortisol level, (b) oral airflow, (c) estimated subglottal pressure, and (d) speaking fundamental frequency from the second sentence of the Rainbow Passage. Results Ten of the 18 participants experienced a hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis response to stress as indicated by a 2.5-nmol/L increase in salivary cortisol from before the TSST to after the TSST. Those who experienced a response to stress had a significantly higher speaking fundamental frequency before and immediately after the stressor than later after the stressor. No other variable varied significantly due to the stressor. Conclusions This study suggests that the idiosyncratic and inconsistent voice changes reported in the literature may be explained by differences in stress system activation. In addition, laryngeal aerodynamic measures appear resilient to changes due to acute stress. Further work is needed to examine the influence of other stress systems and if these findings hold for dysphonic individuals.

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