Multiple resources in divided attention: A cross-modal test of the independence of hemispheric resources.

Used a dual-task methodology to assess a multiple-resources account of information processing in which each cerebral hemisphere is assumed to have access to its own finite amount of attentional resources. A visually presented verbal memory task was paired with an auditory tone memory task, and Ss, 19 right-handed male undergraduates, were paid to emphasize one task more than the other. When Ss were trying to remember tones presented to the right ear, they could trade performance between tasks as a function of the emphasis condition, whereas on left-ear trials they could not. A control session indicated that stimuli presented to the unattended ear demanded processing resources, even when it was to the detriment of performance. Data support the 2nd author and M. C. Polson's (see record 1982-07236-001) model of independence between the hemispheres' resource supplies. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)