| Abstract: | Assessed the role of experience in auditory pattern classification by replicating with native speakers of Cantonese T. M. Williams and L. S. Aiken's (1977) study of auditory–visual equivalence that was conducted with native English speakers. In Cantonese, both the pitch and content of word carry meaning. 72 2nd and 6th graders and 36 adult Ss had to state whether pairs of auditory and visual patterns came from the same prototype class. As hypothesized, Cantonese-speaking Ss were more accurate than English-speaking Ss at classifying auditory patterns, but not differentially accurate at classifying visual patterns. The finding that even the Cantonese Ss were more accurate at classifying visual than auditory patterns lends weight to the theory that vision is the most adept modality for dealing with spatial information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
