An anomalous sex difference in auditory laterality

Abstract

Eighty right-handed adults (40 females, 40 males) performed a task that entailed detecting and localizing targets within series of dichotic digit names. Analysis of sensitivity scores for each ear revealed an overall right-ear advantage (REA). However, a significant Sex x Ear interaction showed that the degree of asymmetry was greater among females than among males. This sex difference, which is opposite to that previously reported in some dichotic listening studies, contradicts the conclusion that language processing is more completely lateralized in males than in females.