Lateral Preferences in the Identification of Patterned Stimuli

Sixty‐four Ss selected on the basis of a right‐ear preference in the recall of dichotically presented words were tested in the recognition of four kinds of dichotically presented nonverbal stimuli: music, timbre, frequency patterns, and temporal patterns. Recognition was tested following 5‐sec and 12‐sec intervals. A significant left‐ear preference was shown in the recognition of musical stimuli following the 5‐sec interval only. The ear differences in the remaining stimulus conditions were not significant. The results are interpreted as being consistent with either a perceptual or mnemonic model of stimulus processing in dichotic listening. The significant ear effect was found only in the first half of the experiment, and this is interpreted as evidence that attention is a necessary condition for the demonstration of ear asymmetry.