| |
Abstract:
Abstract: The present study investigated interhemispheric
cooperation in processing dichotic signals. Eighty participants who
were right-handed listened to six trials consisting of six sets of
dichotic stimuli with tone-signals on one ear and spoken digits on
the other ear. The task was to count the number of tones in each
set of signals and to recall them at the end of each trial. Spoken
digits on one ear were matching (congruent) or non-matching
(incongruent) with tone signals on the other ear. Participants
scored significantly higher in the congruent condition, F(1,78) =
31.20, p < .0005, MSE = 2.83, (M = 6.04, SE = .14 for the
congruent condition, and M = 4.99, SE = .16 for the incongruent
condition). The mean accuracy rate was significantly higher when
the spoken digit heard on one ear corresponded with the number of
tone signals heard on the other ear, (67.08% versus 55.42%). There
was a significant overall left ear advantage (LEA), as
hypothesized, F(1,78) = 21.06, p < .0005, MSE = 1.61. When the
tone signals appeared on the left ear, the accuracy of the count
was higher, with a mean accuracy of 64.86% and 57.64% for the left
and right ear respectively (M = 5.84, SE = .140 for the left ear,
and M = 5.19, SE = .136 for the right ear). The results suggest
that interhemispheric communication may be cooperative or
competitive, depending on the task requirement and the nature of
the information arriving at each hemisphere,
|
