Message and Talker Identification in Older Adults: Effects of Task, Distinctiveness of the Talkers' Voices, and Meaningfulness of the Competing Message

Abstract

Purpose In this study, the authors investigated (a) the effects of task, vocal distinctiveness of the competing talkers, and meaningfulness of the competitor on older listeners' identification of a target in the presence of competition and (b) the factors that are most predictive of the variability in target identification observed among older listeners. Method Seventeen older and 5 younger adults identified a target in the presence of a competing message. Identification was measured for 2 target types (message; talker), 3 vocal-distinctiveness levels (same talker; different talkers–same sex; different talkers–different sex), and 2 competitors (meaningful speech; nonmeaningful time-reversed speech). Multiple regression analyses were used to identify variables that were predictive of intersubject variability. Results Significant age-related differences were found in the benefit obtained from increasing vocal distinctiveness. Older listeners showed reduced target identification when (a) the competitor was normal speech compared with time-reversed speech and (b) the target was message identification compared with talker identification. Variability among listeners in the older group was partially explained by auditory and cognitive factors. Conclusion Age-related declines in multitalker environments are not solely due to lower-level deficits in perceptual organization but are also a consequence of an interaction between lower-level and higher-level processes.