Working memory capacity and rumination in adults who stutter.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Speech and Language Pathology

Background:

• Difficulty discarding irrelevant negative stimuli from working memory is linked to increased rumination.
• Adults who stutter (AWS) report rumination and working memory difficulties compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if AWS discard negative stimuli from working memory faster or slower than AWNS.
• To determine if the speed of discarding negative information correlates with generalized rumination in AWS.

Main Methods:

• A modified Sternberg Task was administered to 26 participants (14 AWS, 12 AWNS).
• Participants memorized wordlists with positive or negative emotional valence, followed by a recall task with a matching or conflicting prompt word.
• Manual response latency was measured to compare stimulus discarding speed between groups.

Main Results:

• Both AWS and AWNS demonstrated slower discarding of negative stimuli compared to positive stimuli.
• No significant difference was found in the speed of discarding irrelevant stimuli between AWS and AWNS.
• The latency of discarding negative information was not associated with self-reported rumination levels in AWS.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary findings suggest no difference in regulating negative stimuli from working memory between AWS and AWNS.
• Rumination does not appear to be uniquely linked to the speed of discarding negative information.
• Further research is needed to clarify the role of working memory in repetitive negative thinking among individuals who stutter.