Perceptual differentiation of African American and European American children: Accuracy, confidence, and reaction time

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that adult speakers can be perceptually differentiated with respect to gender and ethnicity (Thomas & Reaser, 2004). We examine how age, gender, and ethnicity of child speakers, ages 8-12, affect the perceptual accuracy of adult listeners, determining the point at which perceptual accuracy meets the level for adult speakers. Undergraduates listened to forward and reversed recordings of European American and African American children producing /h-vowel-d/ words (/i,ɪ,e,ɛ,æ,ʌ,ɑ,ɔ,o,ʊ,u,ɝ/) and sentences (“I hear the sound of /h-V-d/ some more”) in General American English. Listeners identified speaker ethnicity and gender and rated their confidence. Reaction times were also measured for identification and confidence ratings. We expect greater accuracy, faster reaction times, and higher median ratings for forward blocks, sentences, and female speakers. We do not expect there to be a difference in identification of European American voices versus African American voices. We also anticipate that accuracy of identification will improve as the age of the speaker increases. Implications of this work can be extended for individuals who work with children and in speech-related professions to reduce biases that occur as a result of personal language experience.