Voice recognition by matching to sample

Voice recognition was assessed by a matching to sample procedure in 30 right-handed adults with normal hearing. The subject was required to indicate which of three voices speaking a nonsense syllable matched the speaker of a sample vowel. Subjects were able to recognize voices with reasonable accuracy, but there were no significant differences as a function of ears or practice, and performance was not markedly affected by knowledge of results or mode of response. There was a significant difference as a function of the temporal position of the matching voice, with recognition being most accurate when the matching voice was first and least accurate when it was third. Further research is necessary to determine whether voice recognition should be classified as the type of verbal ability associated with the cerebral hemisphere dominant for speech, or whether it is the type of nonverbal auditory ability associated with the nonspeech hemisphere.