Release from Perceptual Masking for Children and Adults: Benefit of a Carrier Phrase

摘要

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that a carrier phrase can improve word recognition performance for both children and adults by providing an auditory grouping cue. It was hypothesized that the carrier phrase would benefit listeners under conditions where they have difficulty perceptually separating the target word from the competing background. To test this hypothesis, word recognition was examined for maskers that were believed to vary in their ability to create perceptual masking. In addition to determining the conditions under which a carrier-phrase benefit is obtained, age-related differences in both susceptibility to masking and carrier-phrase benefit were examined.