Psycolinguistics - Research Proposal Example

[Your full full February 01, Psycholinguistics Research paper topic: ‘Psychological factors affect the development of speech perception in childhood.’ Abstract The research paper is going to include a very important issue related psycholinguistics, that is, the effect of psychological factors upon the development of language speech perception in children. I will use questionnaires and structured interviews for carrying out the research. The whole process will take around one month. Introduction Human beings are able to process and comprehend the sounds they hear and use in language.

There are several environmental, physical and psychological factors that have a great impact upon a child’s ability to perceive speech. The psychological factors include the child’s family setting, stress, abuse, neglect, separation from loved ones, or an extreme psychological event that distressed him emotionally. The research will focus on questions like: Does an unsuitable family setting affect a child’s perception of speech? What impact does stress and emotional distress has on his speech and sound recognition?

Does getting him separated from his loved ones like a parent affect his ability to perceive speech? These issues have inspired me to conduct this qualitative research. Literature Review Past Research Papers. Some past research that will be helpful is: Benedek, Elissa P. and Diane H. Schetky. “Problems in Validating Allegations of Sexual Abuse. Part 1: Factors Affecting Perception and Recall of Events.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26.6 (1987): 912-915.

(This is a research on the effect of sexual abuse of child’s perception of events but it will also be helpful in interpreting child’s speech perception.) Hurewitz, Felicia, Brown-Schmidt, Sarah, Thorpe, Kirsten, Gleitman, Lila R. and John C. Trueswell. “One Frog, Two Frog, Red Frog, Blue Frog: Factors Affecting Children's Syntactic Choices in Production and Comprehension.” Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 29.6 (2000): 597-626. (This research is about factors that affect a child’s production and understanding of speech.) Nittrouer, Susan.

“The Relation Between Speech Perception and Phonemic Awareness.” Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39 (2006): 1059-1070. (This research is helpful in understanding the relation between speech perception and phonemic awareness in children.) Breier, Joshua I., C. Grayb, Lincoln, Fletcherc, Jack M., Foormanc, Barbara and Patricia Klaasd. “Perception of Speech and Nonspeech Stimuli by Children with and Without Reading Disability and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 82.3 (2002): 226-250.

(This research is about the effect of certain disorders on child’s speech perception.) Street, Richard L. and Joseph N. Capella. “Social and Linguistic Factors Influencing Adaptation in Children's Speech.” Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 18.5 (1989): 497-519. (This is a very helpful research in understanding the topic.) Methodology I plan to visit different families to locate answers to my research questions. I plan to conduct structured personal interviews with the parents and teachers of some reputed schools.

I will also distribute questionnaires among the participants who may also include experts in psycholinguistics. I shall collect data and statistics and shall organize them in charts and tables. The whole research will take around one month. Results as Predicted I predict that the results will be quite helpful in obtaining an exact idea about what effect do psychological factors have on a child’s speech perception.