Personality attributions based on speech samples of children with repaired cleft palates

This study examined whether or not assumptions made about personality characteristics based on speech samples differed for children with repaired cleft palates (CP) versus unaffected children.

Audiotapes of speech samples were presented in random order to blind raters.

The subjects were 20 children (10 females, 10 males) with repaired CP and 16 control (i.e., unaffected) children (8 females, 8 males). All children were 8 to 12 years of age, Caucasian, living in the St. Louis area, and lower-middle to upper-middle class. The raters were 20 (13 females, 7 males) 6th grade Caucasian students who attend a private school in the area.

Raters heard tapes in a group setting, but with individual headphones, in their school's cafeteria.

Each speech sample was rated (7-point Likert scale) by each student rater on a variety of personality characteristics based on the "Big Five" personality factors.

A factor analysis of the items revealed a two-factor solution, although the factors were highly negatively correlated. No significant differences were found between ratings for the CP sample and the control sample for either factor scale (ANOVA, p = .93; p = .67). Similarly, when the two factors were combined to form a single factor, no significant differences were found between the ratings for the CP sample and the control sample (ANOVA, p = .79).

Overall, it does not appear that children differentially associated personality characteristics based on speech to children with repaired CP versus unaffected children, in the absence of visual input.