The Effects of Phonological Short-Term Memory and Speech Perception on Spoken Sentence Comprehension in Children: Simulating Deficits in an Experimental Design

Abstract

The roles of phonological short-term memory (pSTM) and speech perception in spoken sentence comprehension were examined in an experimental design. Deficits in pSTM and speech perception were simulated through task demands while typically-developing children (N $=$ 71) completed a sentence-picture matching task. Children performed the control, simulated pSTM deficit, simulated speech perception deficit, or simulated double deficit condition. On long sentences, the double deficit group had lower scores than the control and speech perception deficit groups, and the pSTM deficit group had lower scores than the control group and marginally lower scores than the speech perception deficit group. The pSTM and speech perception groups performed similarly to groups with real deficits in these areas, who completed the control condition. Overall, scores were lowest on noncanonical long sentences. Results show pSTM has a greater effect than speech perception on sentence comprehension, at least in the tasks employed here.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Parental Questionnaire

Background questions. The following questions will help us interpret the data. Please circle Yes or No for each question.

Is English your child’s first language?	Yes	No
Does your child have a history of hearing impairments?	Yes	No
Does your child have a neurological disorder, such as autism?	Yes	No
Does your child have Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder?	Yes	No

Appendix 2

Stimuli for Sentence-Picture Matching task (Robertson and Joanisse 2010)

Short Sentences

Canonical

• The man is pointing at the boy

• The doctor pinches the girl

• This is the boy that points at the man

• This is the girl that pinches the doctor

Noncanonical

• The boy is tapped by the girl

• The man is pointed at by the boy

• This is the boy that is pointed at by the man

• This is the man that is pointed at by the boy

Long Sentences

Canonical

• The doctor with the short blue hair pinches the girl with the nice blond hair

• The boy in the dark blue pants waves at the man in the dark gray shirt

• The mother with the long brown hair washes the girl with the nice blond hair

• The boy in the dark blue pants taps the girl with the nice black hair

• This is the girl with the nice blond hair that washes the mother with the long brown hair

• This is the boy in the dark blue pants that taps the girl with the nice blond hair

• This is the doctor with the short red hair that pinches the girl with the nice blond hair

• This is the man in the dark gray shirt that waves at the boy in the dark blue pants

Noncanonical

• The boy in the dark blue pants is tapped by the girl with the nice blond hair

• The doctor with the short red hair is pinched by the girl with the nice blond hair

• The girl with the nice blond hair is washed by the mother with the short brown hair

• The boy in the dark blue pants is waved at by the man in the dark gray shirt

• This is the man in the light brown shirt that is waved at by the boy in the dark blue pants

• This is the girl with the nice blond hair that the boy in the dark blue pants taps

• This is the boy in the dark blue pants that the man in the dark gray shirt waves at

• This is the girl with the nice blond hair that the mother with the long brown hair washes

Appendix 3

Example of images accompanying short sentences (Robertson and Joanisse 2010)

The sentence accompanying these images is: The man is pointed at by the boy (Robertson and Joanisse 2010).

Appendix 4

Example of images accompanying long sentences (Robertson and Joanisse 2010)

The sentence accompanying these images is: This is the boy in the dark blue pants that taps the girl with the nice blond hair (Robertson and Joanisse 2010).