Abstract
In an auditory Stroop test, right-handed subjects were required to judge the pitch of the following stimuli: two pure tones, one at a high frequency and one at a low frequency; two congruent words, “high,” sung at the high frequency, and “low,” sung at the low frequency; and two noncongruent words, “high” at low frequency and “low” at high frequency. A sequence of these stimuli was presented monaurally first to one ear, and then to the other. The Stroop effect (the difference between mean RT to congruent words, and mean RT to noncongruent words) was larger for right ear (left hemisphere) presentation. The same experiment was repeated dichotically with a competing message presented to the opposite ear. Again, the Stroop effect was larger for the right ear, and the ear differences were slightly more marked. The result is interpreted as reflecting hemispheric specialization for linguistic and nonlinguistic processing and a model of Stroop conflict in which response competition varies with the relative availability of the conflicting response.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bakker, D. J. Ear asymmetry with monaural stimulation: Relations to lateral dominance and lateral awareness.Neuropaychologia, 1970,8, 103–117.
Filbey, R. A., &Gazzaniga, M. S. Splitting the normal brain with reaction time.Psychonomic Science, 1969,17, 335–336.
Frankfurther, A., &Honeck, R. P. Ear differences in the recall of monaurally presented sentences.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1973,25, 138–146.
Kimura, D. Cerebral dominance and the perception of verbal stimuli.Canadian Journal of Psychology, 1961,15, 166–171.
Kimura, D. Left-right difference in the perception of melodies.Quarterly Journal of Expertmental Psychology, 1964,16, 355–358.
Kimura, D. Functional asymmetry of the brain in dichotic listening.Cortex, 1967,3, 163–178.
Majkowski, J., Bochenek, Z., Bochenek, W., Knapik-Fijalkowska, D., &Kopec, J. Latency of average evoked potentials to contralateral and ipsilateral auditory stimulation in normal subjects.Brain Research, 1971,25, 416–419.
Morton, J. Categories of interference: Verbal mediation and conflict in card sorting.British Journal of Psychology, 1969,60, 329;345.
Morton, J., &Chambers, S. M. Selective attention to words and colors.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1973,25, 387–397.
Schmit, V., & Davis, R. The role of hemispheric specialization in the analysis of Stroop stimuli.Acta Psychologica, in press.
Simon, J. R. Ear preference in a simple reaction time task.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1967,75, 49–53.
Stroop, J. Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1935,18, 643–662.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported by the Mental Health Research Fund and the Medical Research Council.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cohen, G., Martin, M. Hemisphere differences in an auditory Stroop test. Perception & Psychophysics 17, 79–83 (1975). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204002
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204002