Off-topic verbosity: Relationships between verbal abilities and speech characteristics among young and older adults

Abstract

Off-topic verbosity (OTV) refers to extended speech lacking in relevance and focus. Previous research has found that older adults have higher levels of OTV, and some contend that OTV is indicative of cognitive decline. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between verbal cognitive abilities and OTV speech characteristics among young adults (n = 62; age 18–28, M = 20.69) and older adults (n = 76; age 60–98, M = 76.46). Older adults had slower verbal speed and verbal set-shifting than young adults, and they displayed more tangentiality and egocentrism in their speech. Slower set-shifting was associated with increased tangentiality and decreased quantity of speech, particularly in older adults. These results provide some support for the age-related cognitive decline explanation of OTV, as posited by the inhibitory deficit hypothesis.

Keywords:

• Aging
• inhibitory deficits
• speech characteristics
• verbal cognitive ability