Perception of contradictory speech by normal and disturbed children at various age levels.

Recordings were made of female teachers reciting congruent and contradictory messages. In the congruent condition, the verbal and tonal elements of the communication were consistent. In the contradictory condition, the tone of voice was incongruent with the words spoken. All the congruent and contradictory vocal expressions were arranged in random order on a single tape and played to "normal" and "disturbed" boys of different ages (Grades 2, 4, and 6). Significant effects were found for type of speech and age: Ss reacted more negatively to contradictory than to congruent speech, and younger Ss responded more negatively to contradiction than did older ones. The disturbed Ss reacted significantly more negatively than normal Ss to contradictory messages. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)