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The development of basic auditory abilities
330
lHE DEVELOPt£NT OF BftSIC AUDITORY
san.rnss
Bruce A. Schneider In adul t psychoacoust i cs, it is assuned that absolute thresholds, masked thresholds, and cri tical bands reD ect simil ar cr cl orely related a spe ct s of auditery proce ssi.ng, A reasona h1. e first hypo thest a, then, is that atsolute thresholds, masked thresholds, and the size the cri tical band at a rerticular frequency fo1lcw the same developnental cour-se, Recent data oollectep in our 1 abor atory , hcwever, suggest a radically different course of developnent fer each of these three basic auditery }rocesses. For exanple, atsolute thresholds decline ::harply between 6 months and 4 years of age. Masked thresholds, on the other hand, exhibit 1 i ttle orne decline over the same age range. Clearly, the rate of developnent of atsolute sensitivity does not ISrallel the rate of developnent of masked sensitivity • In addition, we find a substantial Imp-ovenent in masked thresholds betNleen 4 and 10 years of age. Since masked thresholds are assumed to be a fmction of the size of the critical band, we walld expect that critical band size woold al so be changing during this period. We find, hcwever, that the size of the critical band fer 2- and 5-year- olds is the same as adul ta, Thus, masked thresholdS decline with age, whil e the size of the cri tical band renai ns oonstant. In general, we find substantially different . rates of developnent fer a number of "basi c auditcry abilities that are thought, to be governed by common or simll ar mechanisns. The thea-etical implications of such differential developnent will be discussed.
lHE DEVELOPt£NT OF BftSIC AUDITORY
san.rnss
Bruce A. Schneider In adul t psychoacoust i cs, it is assuned that absolute thresholds, masked thresholds, and cri tical bands reD ect simil ar cr cl orely related a spe ct s of auditery proce ssi.ng, A reasona h1. e first hypo thest a, then, is that atsolute thresholds, masked thresholds, and the size the cri tical band at a rerticular frequency fo1lcw the same developnental cour-se, Recent data oollectep in our 1 abor atory , hcwever, suggest a radically different course of developnent fer each of these three basic auditery }rocesses. For exanple, atsolute thresholds decline ::harply between 6 months and 4 years of age. Masked thresholds, on the other hand, exhibit 1 i ttle orne decline over the same age range. Clearly, the rate of developnent of atsolute sensitivity does not ISrallel the rate of developnent of masked sensitivity • In addition, we find a substantial Imp-ovenent in masked thresholds betNleen 4 and 10 years of age. Since masked thresholds are assumed to be a fmction of the size of the critical band, we walld expect that critical band size woold al so be changing during this period. We find, hcwever, that the size of the critical band fer 2- and 5-year- olds is the same as adul ta, Thus, masked thresholdS decline with age, whil e the size of the cri tical band renai ns oonstant. In general, we find substantially different . rates of developnent fer a number of "basi c auditcry abilities that are thought, to be governed by common or simll ar mechanisns. The thea-etical implications of such differential developnent will be discussed.