Additionally, I believe [perfectionism](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Perfectionism%22+%22stuttering%22) (i.e., a cognitive distortion) and stuttering can be tied to an unwillingness to be vulnarable, and thus create a self-reinforcing cycle. For example, when we want to speak positively (**approach**), while anticipating negative listener judgments like rejection (i.e., communication failure) (**avoidance**). We perceive an approach-avoidance **conflict** (i.e., an **error**). I think this in itself doesn't disrupt automatic speech, and thus, doesn't result in stuttering. Maybe we should just refer to that vague feeling that, *what I’m about to say is not going to have the desired effect on the listener*. Or, that feeling that, *what I’m about to say is going to make the listener reject me or punish me*”. So any speech that the speaker perceives has failed (or will fail) to produce the desired response in the listener. So I think what's most important is the speaker’s own perception that is all-important here. Whether or not the listener has truly failed to respond in the way the speaker intended is irrelevant. (the listener could also be oneself) **In my own opinion:** But I think if this perceived conflict (or anticipated error) as I mentioned above - leads to perfectionism, "the need to speak more error-free, fluently or perfectly" for speech execution to proceed. Then it might result in delaying (or waiting out) automatic speech i.e., stuttering where we are unable to move forward to say the word. So, I think that the major problem is the speaker’s fear that their poor performance will result in fear of social rejection ([unconditioned stimulus](https://www.google.com/search?q=unconditioned+stimulus)) that is the main problem driving stuttering. This fear leads to their own excessively negative evaluation of their performance (conditioned stimulus) - I mean their perception that it is “not good enough” leading to perfectionism as you pointed out. I argue that error-proneness, negative error-evaluation, high error-responsivity/sensitivity, or a high regulatory mechanism to adjust errors - by itself doesn't increase stuttering. Because all these factors may also be present when singing, but we often don't stutter when singing. Rather I think that the subconscious choice to stop motor execution (and to immediately go back and try again and again) does interfere with regulatory mechanism to adjust errors, and does make it maladaptive. I think this contrasts with what older children might do, during speech in communicative context, when they anticipate stuttering on their own name and entirely halt speech execution —cf. younger CWS. I think when singing, the highest priority is normally to keep up with the beat or rhythm or music or with the other singers… i.e., to keep moving forward rather than entirelly preventing speech motor execution. So, for example, when children first learn to sing, they just naturally focus on keeping moving forward, and in order to do so they naturally jump over words if they find themselves falling behind and they naturally have to allow themselves to make errors. Because this is how they first experience singing (and because when singing there is generally no expectation that the listener should understand the words) young children very quickly develop the faith that they can keep moving forward when they sing… even though they might not be singing very well. So they accept the probability that they will make mistakes (errors) and may have to miss out some sounds or words. This is just my own take on it!