What is it about?

When people speak, they often pause or say "um" and "uh" before finding the right words. These hesitations, called disfluencies, can help listeners predict what comes next. Younger adults can quickly adapt to different speakers' patterns of disfluency, but do older adults do the same? This study tested whether older adults adjust their understanding of speech based on how different speakers use disfluencies. The results showed that older adults can adapt in simple, one-speaker situations but struggle when listening to multiple speakers with different patterns. This suggests that as people age, their ability to adjust to different ways of speaking may become more limited in complex conversations.

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Why is it important?

This research is important because it sheds light on how aging affects real-time language comprehension, especially in dynamic, multi-speaker settings. As older adults often engage in conversations with multiple people (e.g., family gatherings, group discussions), understanding how they process speech disfluencies can help improve communication strategies and accessibility. The study also contributes to broader discussions on cognitive aging and adaptability, offering insights into the challenges older adults may face in everyday conversations.

Perspectives

We had hoped to find speaker-specific adaptation in older adults despite cognitive aging, but our findings suggest that they may rely more on general patterns rather than speaker-specific cues. This could have important implications for designing more effective communication aids, training programs, and AI-driven conversation tools to support older adults. Future research could explore ways to help older adults improve their adaptation skills in real-world settings, potentially enhancing their social interactions and overall quality of life.

Si On Yoon
New York University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Limited learning and adaptation in disfluency processing among older adults., Psychology and Aging, March 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pag0000887.
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