Comparison of listeners' judgments of simulated and authentic stuttering using magnitude estimation scaling

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether normal listeners can differentiate authentic and simulated stuttering. The subjects were 40 graduate and undergraduate students in hearing and speech sciences who were asked to listen to segments of authentic and simulated stuttered speech at varying severities. Using magnitude estimation scaling, each subject was asked to judge the samples of stuttered speech by providing a numerical response that matched the severity of the segment listened to. Analysis showed that the subjects discriminated between different severities of both the authentic and stuttered speech. They did not differentiate between authentic segments of stuttered speech and simulated ones.