Listeners' attitude toward people with dysphonia

Area of Science:

• Speech and Hearing Sciences
• Psychology
• Social Perception

Background:

• The human voice conveys significant information beyond linguistic content, influencing initial speaker impressions.
• Individuals with communication disorders often face negative listener judgments, though this is less consistently reported for voice disorders.
• Understanding listener attitudes towards dysphonic speakers is crucial for addressing social stigma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate listeners' attitudes towards individuals with dysphonia (voice disorders).
• To examine the influence of speaker gender and listener gender on these attitudes.

Main Methods:

• Seventy-four naive listeners evaluated voice recordings from six dysphonic and six nondysphonic speakers.
• A semantic differential scale with 12 bipolar items was used for attitude assessment.
• Factor analysis was employed to validate listener attitudes and generalize findings.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant negative attitudes were directed towards dysphonic speakers across all evaluated scales (P<0.001).
• Dysphonic women received more negative ratings compared to dysphonic men.
• Listener gender and age did not significantly impact attitudes toward speakers (P>0.05).

Conclusions:

• Empirical evidence confirms negative listener attitudes towards dysphonic speakers.
• Women with dysphonia experience more pronounced negative attitudes than men.
• These findings underscore the importance of considering social attitudes in the diagnosis and therapy of voice disorders.