TITLE: The Octave Illusion- Do You Hear What I Hear?

AUTHOR: Jessica Bowler

SCHOOL: Burncoat High School

SCHOOL ADDRESS: 179 Burncoat Street, Worcester, MA. 01606

Past studies have suggested that handedness affects how individuals perceive non-linguistic sounds. Utilizing a sample of high school students, both male and female, and both left and right handed, the Octave Illusion Test was administered.

Results indicated that right handed subjects heard a high tone in the right ear, and a low tone in the left ear. Left handed subjects heard a high tone in the left ear and a low tone in the right ear, as well as some more complex patterns. These results support prior studies in that there is a strong correlation between handedness and how the brain processes non-linguistic sound.