Time-interval measurement of stuttering: establishing and modifying judgment accuracy

The purpose of this study was to determine whether accuracy training for interval judgments of stuttering might generalize to increased accuracy and/or interjudge agreement for intervals other than those used during training. Ten upper-division speech-language pathology students judged 5-s audiovisually recorded speech intervals as stuttered or nonstuttered in a series of group and single-subject experiments. Judgment accuracy was determined with respect to judgments provided previously by 10 recognized authorities on stuttering and its treatment. Training occurred within single-subject experiments that used multiple baselines across speakers and repeated generalization probes to assess training effects. Results showed that judgment accuracy tended to increase after training for speakers used during the training process as well as for unfamiliar speakers. Results also replicated previous findings of slight increases in interjudge and intrajudge agreement after interval-judgment training. The implications of these results for developing a valid and reliable stuttering measurement system are discussed.