Reading records from 32 stutterers were analyzed to determine whether stuttering spasms had occurred with relation to a greater percentage of accented than of unaccented syllables. Percentages of accented syllables in relation to which stuttering occurred were significantly greater than the percentages of unaccented syllables in relation to which stuttering occurred in a majority of cases. The objective data bear out stutterers' introspections concerning the psychological primacy of the beginning of the word. Accented syllables and the first words of sentences require relatively greater tension and increased activity of the speech mechanism. This fact is a possible explanation of the greater amount of stuttering found at these points. The anticipation of these greater demands, rather than the demands themselves, may account also for the greater amount of stuttering on accented syllables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)