Rachel M. Theodore
Graduate Student
Department of Psychology, 125-NI
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115 USA
(617) 373-5551 (office)
(617) 373-8714 (fax)
theodore.r@neu.edu

• See curriculum vitae (pdf)

Advisor: Joanne L. Miller

Research

My research interests include the study of spoken language processing, focusing on perceptual learning of talker-specific phonetic detail. Examining sensitivity to talker-specific phonetic detail requires research on many inter-related topics including talker differences in speech production, listener adjustments at the level of individual speech sounds, and listener adjustments at higher levels of processing including word recognition.

Currently, I am examining how listeners adjust to talker differences in voice-onset-time (VOT), which is one acoustic-phonetic property of speech that cues the voicing contrast in English stop consonants. This project involves both production and perception experiments. In terms of production, we are examining the contextual influences of speaking rate and place of articulation on VOT for individual talkers. In terms of perception, we are examining the level of representation underlying listeners' sensitivity to talker differences in VOT. Further information on this project, including relevant papers and presentations, is provided on my website (http://web.mac.com/r.theodore).