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Abstract:
Abstract: The goal of the present study was to identify
various separable lateralized functions among a set of thirteen
behavioral measures derived from six tasks measuring hemispheric
asymmetries in normal adults. Data were available for 99
participants (85 males, 14 females; 82 right-handers, 17
left-handers; age range 21 to 46 years). Tasks were two dichotic
listening tasks (one using consonant-vowel [CV] syllables and the
other using words spoken in different emotions), a chair
identification task, a chimeric faces task requiring judgment of
emotion, a letter matching task, and a consonant-vowel-consonant
(CVC) visual identification task. Factor analysis of laterality
scores produced six factors accounting for approximately 63% of the
variance. Some factors were consistent with the modality
specificity demonstrated by Boles (1996; 1992); that is, auditory
tasks loaded on separate factors than visual tasks; however, other
factors were related to more abstract processing demands. For
example, tasks that involved asymmetries in affect loaded on the
same factor despite using different stimulus modalities (chimeric
faces [visual] and emotional words dichotic listening [auditory]).
In addition, reaction time measures loaded on a separate factor
from those reflecting bias or laterality scores based on response
accuracy. Implications of these results will be discussed for
models of hemispheric asymmetry and its development.
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