Consistency of ear advantage: an improvement due to increase in presentation rate

In this study data are reported on the reliability of scores of ear advantages obtained in two dichotic tasks, viz. category monitoring and rhyme monitoring. Stimuli were presented at a much higher rate than in earlier reported experiments. This procedure appears to be effective in producing acceptable reliable results with respect to both the direction and the magnitude of ear advantage scores. Furthermore, the data on responses to individual target words are discussed. It appears that neither stimulus characteristics of the target words alone nor strategies of the subjects can explain the major part of variation in reaction times and ear differences. It is suggested that the combination of the stimulus characteristics of the target word and of the word simultaneously presented to the other ear is a major factor determining response latencies.