Aptitude-related differences in auditory recognition masking

An auditory backward recognition masking task (Massaro, 1970) was administered to undergraduates selected for extreme scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test. In two experiments, significant group differences were found in threshold interstimulus intervals (ISIs) required for 75% correct tone recognition. High-aptitude subjects required less time for correct identification of target tones as “high” or “low”. They were more able to overcome the constraints imposed on time-dependent information processing by a masking tone. These group differences were interpreted as indicating better information processing efficiency (h (higher signal-to-noise ratio) in the high-aptitude subjects.