Listening to natural versus cell phone speech on multiple simultaneous tasks.

Abstract

In typical listening environments, attention is often divided and may have different effects on automatic and controlled processes. Automatic processing is a fast, parallel process not limited by short‐term memory, requires little subject effort, but requires extensive consistent training to develop. Controlled processing is a comparatively slow, serial process limited by short‐term memory, requires subject effort, and little training to develop [Schneider and Shiffrin (1977)]. In the present study a methodology was developed to examine effects of controlled and automatic distracters on the perception of distorted speech. Specifically, perception of natural and cell phone speech was investigated while listeners performed simultaneous visual and motor tasks. Young, normal‐hearing native speakers of English were presented with SPIN sentences [Kalikow et al. (1977)] in a background of multitalker babble [Bilger et al. (1984)] using natural and cell phone speech. Prior to the start of the experiment, participants had been trained on visual task using either consistent mapping technique or varied mapping technique. Word recognition scores, pursuit rotor performance, and visual task performance were compared for natural and cell phone speech. The relationship between consistently mapped and variably mapped distracters on perceptual and behavioral performance provides information necessary for more detailed models relevant to real‐world environments.