Dichotic listening | |
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Synonyms | Dichotic listening test |
Purpose | used to investigate auditory laterality and selective attention |
Dichotic listening is a psychological test commonly used to investigate selective attention and the lateralization of brain function within the auditory system. It is used within the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience.
In a standard dichotic listening test, a participant is presented with two different auditory stimuli simultaneously (usually speech), directed into different ears over headphones.[1] In one type of test, participants are asked to pay attention to one or both of the stimuli; later, they are asked about the content of either the stimulus they were instructed to attend to or the stimulus they were instructed to ignore.[1][2]