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Audiovisual Speech Perception With Less Familiar and Frequent Words
Tessa Bent1, Kaylie Maucieri1, Melissa Baese-Berk2
1Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|November 11, 2025
Summary
Word recognition is better with visual cues, especially for less familiar words. This highlights the importance of face-to-face communication in healthcare settings for clear understanding.
Area of Science:
- Speech perception research
- Auditory and audiovisual processing
- Lexical effects on word recognition
Background:
- Lexical factors like word frequency influence word recognition in difficult listening conditions.
- Audiovisual (AV) conditions enhance word recognition compared to auditory (A)-only conditions.
- Word familiarity is an understudied lexical factor impacting speech perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of word familiarity on word recognition in A-only and AV conditions.
- To examine word recognition in an ecologically valid context using medically related sentences in a simulated hospital soundscape.
- To determine how lexical frequency and familiarity interact with presentation modality.
Main Methods:
- 98 adult listeners (18-35 years) participated.
- Sentences with varying lexical frequency and familiarity were presented in A-only and AV conditions with simulated hospital noise.
- Participants transcribed spoken sentences, and responses were scored for key word accuracy.
Main Results:
- Audiovisual presentation significantly improved word recognition compared to A-only.
- Higher lexical frequency and familiarity were associated with more accurate word recognition.
- The benefit of AV presentation was greater for low-frequency words.
Conclusions:
- Visual speech cues enhance word recognition, particularly for less familiar words.
- Face-to-face communication is crucial for healthcare providers when discussing complex medical information.
- Listener's medical knowledge or experience did not correlate with word recognition accuracy.
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