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Inhibiting the Lombard effect.
H L Pick1, G M Siegel, P W Fox
1University of Minnesota, Center for Research in Learning, Perception and Cognition, Minneapolis 55455.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|February 1, 1989
Summary
The Lombard effect, an automatic vocal response to noise, is robust. Training with visual feedback allowed speakers to suppress this effect, even after feedback removal, suggesting learned control over vocal intensity.
Area of Science:
- Speech production
- Auditory perception
- Human behavior
Background:
- The Lombard effect describes the involuntary increase in vocal intensity when speaking in noisy environments.
- Understanding the Lombard effect's automaticity is crucial for speech communication research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the robustness of the Lombard effect under conditions designed to elicit suppression.
- To determine if explicit instructions or visual feedback training can mitigate the Lombard effect.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted to assess the Lombard effect.
- Participants received instructions and/or visual feedback related to vocal intensity during noise exposure.
- Vocal intensity changes in response to noise were measured.
Main Results:
- The Lombard effect proved highly stable and resistant to simple instructions.
- Visual feedback training enabled participants to inhibit the Lombard effect.
- Inhibition persisted even after the removal of visual feedback.
Conclusions:
- The Lombard effect is largely an automatic response, not typically under volitional control.
- Learned suppression of the Lombard effect may involve adjusting overall vocal level rather than altering the noise-induced response.
- This suggests potential pathways for therapeutic interventions targeting speech in noisy conditions.