Adaptation, Consistency and Beyond: Parts I and II

The import of stuttering adaptation & consistency data is probed. A critical analysis of the adaptation & consistency effects, & related concepts, points up several serious problems in the traditional explanation of their significance. Data from a representative study are used to exemplify these problems & to support an integral explanation of the two effects. Adult M stutterers (N = 9, aged 19-26) were asked to read, in succession, 5 copies of a 205-word passage. The findings, based on an analysis of stuttering frequencies & adaptation curves, show the adaptation & consistency effects to be related, essentially reciprocal phenomena that can best be explained in terms of practice. A lang-based analysis of the reading material used in the study identifies linguistic stress as the major dimension through which the effect of practice finds expression. It is concluded that traditional accounts of these phenomena are misleading & that analysis of adaptation-consistency data from the novel perspective advocated contributes realistically to understanding stuttering. 10 Tables, 11 Figures, 56 References. Modified HA