Factor Analysis of the Ability to Comprehend Time-Compressed Speech

Abstract

Sources of individual differences in the listening comprehension of speech presented at different rates were investigated by factor analyzing 11 variables, including measures of comprehension and field-independence. Twenty-two different tests, two for each variable, were administered to 50 college students. It was concluded that: (a) the cloze type of test includes a large component of variance unrelated to comprehension and quite specific to the technique itself, and (b) the comprehension of highly speeded speech probably involves a perceptual ability to be field-independent in addition to a separate ability involved in comprehending speech at normal rates.The correlates of the ability to comprehend time-compressed speech have been studied (see Johnson, 1968, andFriedman, 1970), but data relevant to the extent to which this ability can be distinguished from the ability to comprehend normal speech are sparse. The ability to comprehend time-compressed speech may depend upon the ability of the individual to disregard the unique stimulus characteristics of speeded speech and attend more to meaning or content, i.e., be more field-independent (Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough and Kamp, 1962).Field-dependency is a theoretical construct which has been introduced to explain the difficulties of some people in recognizing familiar stimuli when embedded in unfamiliar contexts, in "keeping things apart" in the perceptual field, in imposing order and avoiding disruptive stress responses in unfamiliar or novel situations. Field-dependent people tend to be stimulus-bound, unable to differentiate the variant from the invariant. The ability to understand compressed speech would seem to require the listener to remain undistracted by the superfluous novelty of speeded speech, and to attend more to the content of the message than to the rate of presentation. It was hypothesized that field-independent listeners would be better able to cope with time-compressed speech than field-dependent listeners.The two primary purposes of the following research were: (a) to investigate the sources of individual difference in the comprehension of speech presented at different rates, and (b) to explore the relationship between field-independency and the ability to comprehend

ODEL – Open and Distance Education and Listening: The Need for Metacognitive Listening Strategies

“…People on average can talk at about 125 -175 words per minute, while we can listen at a rate of up to 450 words per minute (Carver, Johnson & Friedman 1970). The implication of this is that people's minds may begin to wander while listening, and speakers need to be aware of it and compensate for it, using strategies to help keep attention.…”