Dichotic listening, handedness, and reading ability: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

A meta‐analysis was used to aggregate data regarding the influence of selective attention, handedness, and reading ability on the right‐ear advantage in dichotic listening. Data from 15 independent dichotic studies that employed consonant‐vowel stimuli, free‐recall and directed‐attention conditions, and left‐and right‐handed children (age range 6 to 12 years, IQ > 85) classified as good and poor readers determined the sample. The statistical aggregation of research results based on the use of effect sizes and one‐sample tests indicated that younger (6 years, 0 months to 8 years, 11 months) and older (9 years, 0 months to 12 years, 11 months) good readers and older poor readers shifted attention and thus overcame the right ear advantage bias, whereas younger poor readers shift attention only in the directed‐right condition. Effect size analyses (with individuals combined for age) also indicated that left‐ and right‐handed good readers do not shift attention across directed conditions, but attentional shifting was found for left‐ and right‐handed poor readers. The meta‐analysis clearly demonstrates an interaction among age, reading ability, and handedness on dichotic listening outcome. Differences in patterns of ear report among these groups of children are suggestive of a combination of varied functional lateralization and attentional strategies employed during dichotic consonant‐vowel tasks.