Word recognition testing (WR testing) primarily uses which type of words?

Word recognition testing (WR testing) primarily utilizes phonetically balanced (PB) words. These are carefully selected words that represent a variety of phonetic elements and are geared towards testing a person's ability to recognize and understand speech in a controlled setting.

PB words are designed to provide a true representation of a person's auditory processing abilities because they consist of common words that would typically be found in everyday language. The balanced nature of these words helps minimize confounding variables and ensures that the test effectively gauges word recognition skills without bias towards specific phonetic patterns.

In contrast, spondees are two-syllable words with equal stress placed on both syllables and are primarily used in speech reception thresholds rather than in WR testing. Phonemes refer to individual sounds that comprise words, while formants pertain to the frequency components of speech sounds rather than whole words. Therefore, none of these alternatives are suitable for the specific context of word recognition testing as effectively as PB words.