Schizotypy and hemisphere function—IV : Story comprehension under binaural and monaural listening conditions

An experiment is reported examining the story-comprehension performance of normal Ss under left ear, right ear and binaural listening conditions, the results being related to scores on the schizotypy (STA) scale of a previously described questionnaire (STQ). Hypotheses were derived from the observations of other investigators that schizophrenics and the children of schizophrenics show impaired binaural relative to monaural and poor left ear performance on the task; a pilot study had indicated that this might also be the case in normal high STA scorers. Results of the main experiment failed to confirm predictions, though in male Ss several significant effects were observed. High schizotypals showed weakened asymmetry, reflected in better left ear relative to right ear performance, compared with low schizotypals; they also showed a smaller binaural/left ear difference. Some reasons for the discrepancy between these and previous findings using a similar task are considered and the results are discussed in relation to other studies of schizotypy and hemisphere function carried out in our laboratory.