The effect of lateral speaker position on auditory localization reaction times

In response to Rhodes' (1987; personal communication, April 22, 1990) assertion that reaction time data in auditory localization must be corrected for eccentricity of the sound source from straight ahead of the participant, data from auditory localization in the horizontal plane was collected and analyzed. Multiple regression analysis indicates that the eccentricity of the sound to be localized (from straight ahead of the observer) has an interactive effect on reaction time with the angle of required attentional shift. Although the effect of speaker eccentricity cannot be ignored as in Clark, Covey & Hines (1995), the simple correction factor suggested by Rhodes (1987) is also not appropriate to interpret the interaction.