Communicating directional information with an auditory display.

Examined whether right or left commands could be communicated more effectively using symbolic, directional, or combined directional and symbolic cues. In a choice RT task, 36 male and 36 female undergraduates pressed a right- or left-hand key in response to (a) 1,000 or 4,000 Hz. binaural tonal commands (symbolic cue), (b) a single pure monaural tone (directional cue), and (c) 1,000 or 4,000 Hz. monaural tonal commands in the ear corresponding to the symbolic content of the command (combined directional and symbolic cues). The combined (redundant) cue condition produced the fastest RT, while RT to the directional cue alone was faster than to the symbolic cue alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)