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The effect of speaker-specific auditory images on reading in Japanese

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Abstract

Auditory images for speech are preserved and can be accessed during reading. This research, conducted in Japan, examined whether and to what extent previous findings on the influence of speaker-specific auditory images in reading can be generalized to non-English speakers in a different cultural context. In two studies, Japanese participants were asked to read a text aloud after being informed that the text had been written by either a fast speaker or a slow speaker whose speech they were to listen to. The participants read the episode more slowly when it was attributed to a slow speaker than when it was attributed to a fast speaker. Individual differences in one’s mimicry of the speaker moderated the influence of speaker-specific auditory images in reading. The influence was confirmed only for those who consciously mimicked the speaker. In contrast, situational cues manipulated to generate affiliation with and closeness to the speakers did not influence the participants’ reading times.

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Notes

  1. The mimicry and speaking rate interaction was qualified with speaker’s gender, F(1, 58) = 8.45, p = .005, η2p = .13. As mentioned, the influence of the speakers’ speaking rates was found only in participants consciously mimicking. Whereas the pattern appeared in male conversations, F(1, 58) = 26.29, p < .001, η2p = .31, it became weak in female conversations, F(1, 58) = 3.25, p = .08, η2p = .05.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Yuichi Mori

  2. Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan

    Keiko Ishii

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  1. Yuichi Mori
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  2. Keiko Ishii
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Correspondence to Keiko Ishii.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

Yuichi Mori declares that he has no conflict of interest. Keiko Ishii declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Mori, Y., Ishii, K. The effect of speaker-specific auditory images on reading in Japanese. Curr Psychol 39, 2343–2350 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9946-z

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