A right-ear advantage in monotic shadowing

Lists of 30 monosyllabic words drawn at random with replacement from a set of 69 were presented monotically to the right or left ear of 28 subjects for immediate repetition (shadowing) at a rate of 120 words per minute. Each subject shadowed 40 lists. A right-ear advantage was found over the first 1.5 blocks (15 lists) but not for the remaining 2.5 blocks (25 lists). The results are related to previous investigations of monotic and dichotic listening, and are explained by a set (bias) in attention or response which favours the right ear and declines with practice.