Student Grant - Hertsberg-Rodgers

Temperament, cognitive bias, and perceived communication: Difficulty among adolescents who stutter

PI: Naomi Hertsberg-Rodgers

Mentors: Tricia Zebrowski (Communication Sciences and Disorders), Teresa Treat (Psychological and Brain Sciences) and Bob McMurray (Psychological and Brain Sciences)

Project: Although adolescents who stutter are at increased risk for developing social anxiety, the cognitive mechanisms underlying this psychosocial vulnerability are not understood. This study will investigate individual and group differences in attentional bias towards threatening social stimuli and bias towards threat-based interpretations of ambiguous social situations among adolescents who stutter and their typically fluent peers. This project will inform our understanding of the complex relationship between stuttering and social anxiety vulnerability, and will inform future intervention efforts in this area.