The Interplay of Auditory and Motor Processes in Speech Perception

Date of Submission

Spring 2025

Document Type

Closed Research Project

Degree Name

Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology

Department

Speech-Language Pathology

First Advisor

Beatriz Barragan, PhD

Abstract

This study explores the integration of auditory and motor processes in speech perception, focusing on how articulatory interference affects the recognition of speech sounds in both monolingual and bilingual individuals. Grounded in the motor theory of speech perception, the research examined whether restricting lip movement would impact accuracy and reaction time in a word recognition task under noisy conditions. Nineteen participants (nine monolingual English speakers and ten bilingual Spanish-English speakers) completed an auditory word-to-picture matching task under a control (hand muscle restriction) and an experimental (lip muscle restriction) condition. Results showed monolingual participants performed consistently across both conditions. Bilingual participants exhibited similar accuracy in the control and experimental conditions but slower reaction times under the latter condition. These findings suggest that bilingual individuals rely more heavily on sensorimotor integration to support speech perception. The observed trends support the relevance of the Motor Theory of Speech Perception (Liberman & Mattingly, 1985) and emphasize the role of top-down processing in bilingual speech perception. The discussion includes the implications for language intervention and learning.

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