Paige Ewen and Tracy Izard, “Nonword Repetition Performance in Young Adults”
Mentor: Sabine Heuer, Communication Sciences & Disorders, Rehabilitation Sciences & Technology (School of)
Poster #114
Nonword repetition tasks (NWRTs) assess phonological working memory by requiring participants to repeat unfamiliar word-like utterances. These tasks provide insight into phonological encoding, storage, and production while isolating these processes from the semantic influences. Prior research suggests that NWRTs can help evaluate phonological deficits in individuals with aphasia. However, performance variability exists even among language normal adults, making it important to collect normative data for NWRTs. Nineteen college-age participants (17 females, 2 males) were recruited from a university setting. Participants self-reported no history of hearing or language difficulties. A hearing screening ensured normal hearing thresholds. The NWRT used was the Psycholinguistic Assessment of Language Processing in Aphasia (PALPA) Subtest 8. This consists of 30 nonwords of varying syllable lengths. Participants listened to each nonword via laptop speakers and were asked to repeat what they heard. If necessary, the audio was repeated once. Responses were recorded using a Rode microphone and analyzed for accuracy using the Audacity software. Errors were coded based on syllable position and a reliability analysis was conducted. A univariate ANOVA revealed no significant differences in accuracy across one, two, and three syllable nonwords. Errors were most frequently produced on the first syllable regardless of word length. A total of 87 errors were recorded, with individual participants producing between one and 11 errors. Variability in NWRT performance among language normal adults aligns with prior research. The lack of significant differences in accuracy across syllable length suggests that working memory demands between one and three syllable words may not be sufficiently different to impact performance. These findings provide normative data for the PALPA-8 NWRT and highlight the need for further investigation into sources of individual variability.