Dichotic Word Recognition and the Neighborhood Activation Model of Speech Perception

Dichotic word recognition was measured using monosyllabic words paired according to lexical categories based on the Neighborhood Activation Model (NAM) of speech perception. Differences in lexical difficulty of the stimuli were investigated to determine their affect on dichotic word recognition performance. Twelve right-handed young adults with normal hearing participated in the present study. The stimuli consisted of the Northwestern University Auditory Test Number 6 (NU-6) monosyllabic word list paired dichotically according to NAM lexical categories (i.e., four word categories based on word frequency and density). Dichotic word recognition was measured in three response conditions: 1) free recall (repeat both words in any order), 2) directed right (repeat word presented to right ear first), and 3) directed left (repeat word presented to left ear first). Dichotic word recognition scores revealed a right ear advantage of 2.67% for free recall and 4.75% for directed right dichotic response conditions. The directed left dichotic response condition revealed a left ear advantage of 2.25%. For all three response conditions, word pairings across NAM categories yielded similar recognition performance. Results correspond to previous studies, further supporting the importance of brain dominance and lexical factors on word recognition performance in dichotic listening.The Colleges of Arts and SciencesThe College of Social and Behavioral SciencesNo embarg