Effects of Attention and Memory on the Processing of Auditory and Visual Information
Open Access
Author:
Palamara, Kellie Marie
Area of Honors:
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Carol Anne Miller, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Ingrid Maria Blood, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
auditory processing attention memory visual
Abstract:
There is much disagreement in the speech language hearing community on the diagnosis of auditory processing disorders. Most studies done on individuals’ auditory processing abilities are strictly done in the auditory modality. Testing done strictly in the auditory modality makes it difficult to differentiate true deficits in auditory processing ability from deficits in other areas of higher order processing such as memory, language, and attention. It has been suggested throughout the literature that in order to obtain a true picture of an individual’s auditory processing abilities, testing must also be done in additional modalities (i.e., visual). Therefore, this thesis examined adults’ performance on both auditory and visual tasks that were designed to parallel each other. Increased attentional and memory demands were also put in place in attempt to differentiate between strict auditory and visual performance and the effects of attention and memory. Our results showed that performance on specific language tasks (i.e., nonword repetition tasks and backward digit span) might be a predictor of performance on auditory processing tasks. However, the effects attention and memory have on auditory processing abilities is still unclear.
