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Objective and Subjective Measures of Children's Engagement with Auditory Narratives

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Title: Objective and Subjective Measures of Children's Engagement with Auditory Narratives
Language: English
Authors: Sophia M. H. Robinson, Rafaela Platkin, Sarah Bobbitt, Stephen Van Hedger (ORCID 0000-0002-2448-9088), Blake E. Butler (ORCID 0000-0001-5287-3450)
Source: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2026 69(4):1814-1824.
Availability: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Listening, Children, Cognitive Processes, Difficulty Level, Measures (Individuals), Listening Comprehension, Foreign Countries, Reaction Time, Measurement Techniques
Geographic Terms: Canada
DOI: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00646
ISSN: 1092-4388
1558-9102
Abstract: Purpose: Listening engagement describes the extent to which an individual recruits cognitive resources for a listening task, potentially contributing to the experience of listening effort--the subjective experience of exerting cognitive resources to process sounds. This study explored the use of spoken narrative stimuli to assess two different measures of listening engagement in children and objectively assess their engagement in stories. Method: Seventy children (31 female; M[subscript age] = 10.3 years) between the ages of 9-12 years listened to two engaging stories containing different child-preferred themes and a non-engaging control story lacking these themes. Engagement was measured using two methods: a self-report measure (a version of the Story World Absorption Scale) and a performance-based measure (a speeded directional judgment task) presented concurrently with the stories. Results: Stories with child-preferred themes were rated as more engaging than the control story via self-report. Moreover, secondary task reaction times were significantly slower while listening to engaging stories than the control story, suggesting that engaging stories placed higher demands on cognitive resources. Intersubject correlation analyses revealed that reaction times across the duration of engaging stories were more consistent than across the control story, suggesting that reaction times reflected a shared response to narrative content. Conclusion: Together, these results suggest that children's engagement with auditory narratives can be measured objectively and that engagement varies across stories in a manner that is qualitatively similar to adults.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1505228
Database: ERIC
FullText Links:
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  Data: Objective and Subjective Measures of Children's Engagement with Auditory Narratives
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sophia+M%2E+H%2E+Robinson%22">Sophia M. H. Robinson</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rafaela+Platkin%22">Rafaela Platkin</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarah+Bobbitt%22">Sarah Bobbitt</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stephen+Van+Hedger%22">Stephen Van Hedger</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2448-9088">0000-0002-2448-9088</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Blake+E%2E+Butler%22">Blake E. Butler</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5287-3450">0000-0001-5287-3450</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language%2C+and+Hearing+Research%22"><i>Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research</i></searchLink>. 2026 69(4):1814-1824.
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  Data: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
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  Data: 11
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Listening%22">Listening</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+Processes%22">Cognitive Processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Difficulty+Level%22">Difficulty Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Measures+%28Individuals%29%22">Measures (Individuals)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Listening+Comprehension%22">Listening Comprehension</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reaction+Time%22">Reaction Time</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Measurement+Techniques%22">Measurement Techniques</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00646
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  Data: 1092-4388<br />1558-9102
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: Listening engagement describes the extent to which an individual recruits cognitive resources for a listening task, potentially contributing to the experience of listening effort--the subjective experience of exerting cognitive resources to process sounds. This study explored the use of spoken narrative stimuli to assess two different measures of listening engagement in children and objectively assess their engagement in stories. Method: Seventy children (31 female; M[subscript age] = 10.3 years) between the ages of 9-12 years listened to two engaging stories containing different child-preferred themes and a non-engaging control story lacking these themes. Engagement was measured using two methods: a self-report measure (a version of the Story World Absorption Scale) and a performance-based measure (a speeded directional judgment task) presented concurrently with the stories. Results: Stories with child-preferred themes were rated as more engaging than the control story via self-report. Moreover, secondary task reaction times were significantly slower while listening to engaging stories than the control story, suggesting that engaging stories placed higher demands on cognitive resources. Intersubject correlation analyses revealed that reaction times across the duration of engaging stories were more consistent than across the control story, suggesting that reaction times reflected a shared response to narrative content. Conclusion: Together, these results suggest that children's engagement with auditory narratives can be measured objectively and that engagement varies across stories in a manner that is qualitatively similar to adults.
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  Data: 2026
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