The role of self-construal in auditory spatial attention: Neural responses to masking noise in speech-in-noise tasks

This study investigates listeners' biological responses to speech under different masking noise conditions during a speech-in-noise task, examining the role of self-construal—a psychological measure of individual cognition, emotion, and motivation. Fifty participants (19 from the US and 31 from Japan) with normal hearing completed a speech identification task with masking noise streams. The target speech was presented through a front-left speaker while masking noise consisting of music and unintelligible speech was played from either a front-right or back-center speaker. Neural responses were recorded using a 21-channel EEG system, and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were analyzed for conditions defined by two Signal-to-NoiseRatios (SNRs: −18 and −12 dB) and masker positions. Participants were categorized into interdependent or independent self-construal groups via a survey. ANOVA results showed that interdependent listeners exhibited significantly lower ERP amplitude for front-positioned maskers at lower SNR (p = 0.0005). No significant interaction was found between language and self-construal groups (p = 0.3882). These indicate that the masker position impacts interdependent listeners, regardless of their languages. These findings highlight the influence of self-construal on spatial auditory responses. Future research will employ realistic, continuous speech stimuli to further refine our understanding of individual auditory cognition in complex spatial environments.