Dichotic Listening

The Dichotic Listening Task is an auditory measure of selective attention and hemispheric lateralization. Different speech stimuli (words, digits, or syllables) are presented simultaneously to each ear via headphones. Participants attend to one ear (shadowing or repeating that information) while ignoring the other. Accuracy and reaction times reveal the capacity for selective attention, and asymmetries in correct identification between ears reveal hemispheric dominance for speech processing (typically stronger in the right ear, reflecting left-hemisphere language dominance).