Abstract
Phonetic convergence has been argued to be automatic as well as socially motivated. Previous studies have shown effects of socially-driven factors on working memory (Beilock et al. 2007), suggesting that working memory might mediate the socially-driven and automatic components of convergence. We used Amazon's Mechanical Turk to test convergence toward a voice with lengthened VOT, with short-term and working memory (modified digit span) conditions as well as a control condition. Overall, participants converged in VOT while shadowing, but converged less when working memory was occupied. These results suggest that social factors affect phonetic convergence indirectly, through their effect on working memory load.
Highlights
Phonetic convergence, called phonetic imitation, is the phenomenon where an individual's speech becomes more similar to the speech that they hear over the course of an interaction
The current study examines the effects of working memory load on phonetic convergence, measuring VOT in English voiceless stops in a modified digit span shadowing task
In a digit span task designed to tax working memory, participants converged less to a model talker while handling an active working memory load
Summary
Called phonetic imitation, is the phenomenon where an individual's speech becomes more similar to the speech that they hear over the course of an interaction. If imitation is automatic, social factors must affect imitation indirectly, rather than being the direct cause of imitation behavior. One way in which social factors may indirectly affect imitation is by affecting the processing of input before it can be imitated. This is possible either by affecting the perception of the incoming phonetic signal, or by affecting the cognitive processes that recognize the received phonetic signal as input for convergence. One candidate cognitive process for affecting the processing of phonetic input is working memory, which has been shown to have an effect on socially driven factors in other contexts, such as the activation of stereotypes (Schmader & Johns 2003; Beilock et al 2007). The current study examines the effects of working memory load on phonetic convergence, measuring VOT in English voiceless stops in a modified digit span shadowing task
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