DOI: 10.6129/CJP.20140111
Chinese Journal of Psychology 2015, Vol.57, No. 1, 27-43

Effect of Prompts on Young The Effect of Test Material and Age upon Dichotic Performance in Young and Senior Subjects

Hsiao-Chuan Chen（Master’s programs -- Special Education, Audiology and Speech Therapy, Department of Special Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University）

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of test material and age on participants’ listening
performance in dichotic tests. A younger group (YG) consisting of 29 people and an elderly group (EG) consisting of 20 people participated in the study. A Mandarin dichotic digit (DDI-M) test, Mandarin dichotic sentence identification (DSI-M) test, and Mandarin staggered spondaic (SSW-M) test were administered. Aside from the thresholds at 8,000 Hz in the right ears of the participants in the EG, the participants’ hearing abilities were within normal limits. Results showed the following: Right ear advantage (REA) was revealed in the DDI-M test results of the YG, as well as in the DSI-M and SSW-M test results of the EG. The decline of the scores from a noncompeting to a competing condition is referred to as ear disadvantage. The left ear disadvantage  (LED) was greater than that in the right ear in the EG. LED seemed to be the major contributor to REA. LED was observed in 95% of the EG participants; however, the individual differences were great. The observed group differences included the following: the YG scored higher than the EG did in the DDI-M, DSI-M, and SSW-M tests, except for the right competing condition observed in the SSW-M test results. The participants who exhibited the REA phenomenon in the SSW-M outnumbered those who did in the DSI-M test. The advantage of
administering the SSW-M test was revealing LED.

Keywords: left ear disadvantage (LED), right ear advantage (REA), elderly subjects, young subjects, dichotic test