Anxiety, Speech Disturbances and Speech Rate

Abstract

A distinction is drawn between two types of anxiety that might affect speech. Previous work on speech disturbance and speech rate is reviewed in the light of this distinction. An experiment is camed out in which both types of anxiety are varied. A significant effect of one type of anxiety on certain types of speech disturbance is found. A significant interaction between both types of anxiety and speech rate is found. On the basis of these results, conclusions are drawn about the usefulness of speech disturbances as an indicator of anxiety.

Linguistic style as an indicator of psychotherapeutic regression: A case study

“…That linguistic phenomena such as these are very responsive to anxiety states, with or without psychotherapy, has been convincingly demonstrated for several decades by Mahl (1959Mahl ( 1987, and several other researchers have contributed to establishing that relationship (Balkan & Masserman 1940, Cook 1969, Lalljee & Cook 1975, Siegman & Pope 1972, although there have also been failures to support Mahl's findings (Benton, Hartman, & Sarason 1955, Boomer & Goodrich 1961. The relationship between language and anxiety may be considered an instance of a more general relationship between language and regression, where anxiety may be an instigator of regression, a component of it, or a consequence of it.…”

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“…It seems very likely though that anxious speakers need more time at the beginning of sentences to organize their speech. Why they should fill this time, and not simply remain silent, is a question which we have attempted unsuccessfully to answer in previous studies Cook & Lalljee, 1970).…”

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“…This leads to problems with compound sentences and clauses (Craik & Simon, 1980). • People with and without language disorders are vulnerable to anxiety, and computer messages may cause confusion and panic (Cook, 1969).…”