Developmental perspectives on the localization and detection of auditory signals.
Responsiveness of 1-, 3-, and 5-year-old children and adults to octave-band noises at .4 and 10 kHz was assessed with a go/no-go version of visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) (Moore, Thompson, & Thompson, 1975) and a two-alternative, forced-choice version (Suzuki & Ogiba, 1961; Trehub, Schneider, & Endman, 1980). Infants performed better on the two-alternative, forced-choice version in quiet and in noisy backgrounds, and adults performed better on the two-alternative, forced-choice version in quiet but not in noisy backgrounds. Performance on the two tasks was essentially equivalent for 3- and 5-year-old children. Superior performance on two-alternative VRA over go/no-go may be due to lesser cognitive demands in the case of infants and to the engagement of superior decision strategies in the case of adults.
Schneider
B A
BA
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Trehub
S E
SE
Thorpe
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods*; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010897:Pitch Discrimination; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D013017:Sound Localization