PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

We present a study on the interactions between implicit at- tention to acoustic-phonetic detail in speech and individual differences (IDs). Attention to phonetic detail was assessed with acoustically manipulated speech stimuli within a computer game, an alternative to regular highly-controlled categorization tests. Twenty-two native German speakers (11f) completed the game and further tests including individual attention test mea- sures (e.g. Simon Test), the BFI-10 (short version of the Big Five Inventory), and a Self-monitoring Test (need for social ap- proval). With this study, we contribute to the understanding of the processes underlying human speech perception and the impact of cognitive and personality features on the attention to phonetic detail. Our results show that the general (non-verbal) attention capacity (mental flexibility, inhibition), interacts with implicit attention to phonetic detail. Furthermore, IDs in per- sonality, such as sensitivity to social cues or conscientiousness significantly add to the effects. Understanding these interac- tions, especially arising in an intuitive and non-explicit study design, is an important step on the way towards explaining not only the influence of IDs on attention to phonetic detail, but also the dynamics of speech interaction (e.g. phonetic convergence).