Establishing norms on the Auditory Comprehension Test among a sample of first year university students

Abstract

This study seeks to establish a wider normative sample base for the Auditory Comprehension Test (ACT) (Green and Krammer, 1983)» The ACT is effective in differentiating between individuals who have a binaural deficit in speech comprehension and those who do not. One hundred and three first year University students were tested on the ACT (seventy- three females and thirty males). Three out of this number (2,91%) were found to have binaural deficits. No significant differences were found to exist between males and females on Left, Right, and Both ear scores of the ACT. Significant differences were found to exist between performance on each ear condition for this current study in comparison with an earlier study (Green & Kramer, 1984) with a smaller sample. This indicates a need for more exhaustive methods of standardising the administration and scoring of the ACT, as well as testing with larger and more varied population groups. Ear plug testing with one of the three subjects found to have binaural deficits indicated a 27 point improvement (21,78%) when the ear plug was fitted in V the weaker ear as compared to the open field binaural no~ear plug condition. An interview conducted with the same subject revealed a preference for visual or audio-visual modes of assimilating environmental stimuli in comparison to auditory inputs alone. This subject showed extreme elevations on the Hypomania scale of the MMPI, The Emotional Perception Test (Green & Severson, 1986) did not reveal any differences in the same subject’s ability to discriminate emotions in comparison to the test norms, although there was a relatively more frequent overestimation of the sadness emotion by this subject in comparison to the normative sample. The promise of the ACT both as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool is emphasized. The need for a comprehensive scoring manual is emphatically indicated.