Thursday, 2 December, 1:00pm. Online talk. Language: Spanish.

Impact of face masks on speech perception: a study of eye movements 

Inmaculada Fajardo
Universitat de València

The audiovisual enhancement is an improvement of speech perception that occurs when the voice of the speaker can be heard and their face, seen (as opposed to when only the voice is heard). While this phenomenon has been empirically studied for decades, the mandatory use of face masks during the Covid‑19 pandemic requires it to be revisited in order to answer new questions. Some issues to be addressed are how much of this enhancement is lost with different types of face masks (opaque, transparent, semitransparent, etc.) and to what degree it is intensified for people with hearing loss.

In this talk, we will present preliminary results (correct answers and eye movements on the speaker’s face) of a study on the audiovisual integration during speech perception with and without face masks of different types in adults with and without hearing loss. A group of researchers of the ERI‑Reading (Universitat de València) is in charge of this study, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Sevilla and the Hospital de La Ribera.

Biography

Inmaculada Fajardo is an Associate Professor and a member of ERI‑Reading. Her research activity centres on the study of the difficulties in reading and language in children that derive from disabilities or disorders (intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders and hearing loss). Among other techniques, she is specialised in register and the analysis of eye movements.