A Study of the Eye-movements of Stutterers during Oral Reading

This study is particularly concerned with the comparison of normal speakers and stutterers as to the nature of their respective eye-movements during oral reading, and with the eye-movements of stutterers during stuttering spasms. Since the behavior of the eyes is such a sensitive indicator of many nervous and mental diseases it was thought that the behavior of the stutterers' eyes during speech might shed some light on the nature of the nervous disorder in stuttering. As far as the present authors are aware, there are on record no investigations of the eye-movements of stutterers during oral reading. Most of the data available from the photographic study of eye-movements pertain to the silent reading and fixation movements of normal speakers. Huey (6) and Schmidt (9) have summarized the work of earlier experiments in this field, while W. S. Gray (5) and Tinker (10, 11) have given comprehensive summaries of the more recent studies. The several studies concerning eye-movements have all been made in connection with studies of silent reading. Among these researches have been the studies of Schmidt (9) and C. T. Gray (4) with which at a later point we shall compare the results of our study. Comparisons will also be made with the eye-movements of stutterers during silent reading, a subject recently investigated by Murray (8). 1 This paper is a preliminary report of the investigation of the eye-movements of stutterers being carried on at the psychological laboratories of the University of Iowa as a part of the large program of research on the nature of stuttering under the direction of Dr. Lee Edward Travis. 528