Ear dominance depends on sequential, frequency‐specific interactions between tones at the two ears

Abstract

Where ear dominance effects have been demonstrated, dichotic chords composed of identical frequencies were presented in succession, such that one ear received the high tone and then the low, whilst simultaneously the other hear received the low tone and then the high. Such cords have been presented in rapid, repetitive sequence [e.g., D. Deutsch, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 55, S18–S19(A) (1974)] or judgments were made on pairs of such chords [e.g., R. Efron and E. W. Yund, Neuropsychologia 12, 249–256 (1974)]. The present experiments compared conditions where successive dichotic chords were composed of identical frequencies (as above) and where they were composed of different frequencies. Clear ear dominance effects occurred in the former case, but none in the latter. Further, ear dominance was disrupted by the interpolation of a single tone of different frequency between members of a dichotic chord pair composed of identical frequencies. Explanations of ear dominance in terms solely of simultaneous interactions are inadequate to explain these findings. [Work supported by NIMH.]