Abstract
Previous research on backward masking (BM) suggests that the ability develops slowly across childhood. When a spectral notch is placed in a noise masker, thresholds improve due to a decrease in masker energy at the frequency of the signal. To further clarify the developmental course of BM thresholds for BM and backward notched-noise (BM-N), conditions were measured in 81 children ranging in age from seven to ten years. BM stimuli consisted of a 20-ms, 1000-Hz tone presented 20 ms prior to a 300-ms, 600–1400 Hz bandpass noise. BM-N stimuli consisted of a 1000-Hz tone presented 20 ms prior to the onset of a 300-ms, 400–1600 Hz bandpass noise with a spectral notch between 800 and 1200 Hz. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant difference among age groups for the BM condition (F(3,77)=3.63, p<.05), but not for the BM-N condition. Thresholds generally decreased with increasing age in the BM condition (age seven 87.86 dB; eight 81.36 dB; nine 75.31 dB, and ten 77.26 dB). Increased BM thresholds in younger children may indicate poorer processing efficiency, whereas the notched results suggest that frequency selectivity is relatively mature by age seven.
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