Sources of individual differences in the listening comprehension of speech presented at different rates were investigated by factor analyzing 11 variables, including measures of comprehension and field-independence. Twenty-two different tests, two for each variable, were administered to 50 college students. It was concluded that: (a) the cloze type of test includes a large component of variance unrelated to comprehension and quite specific to the technique itself, and (b) the comprehension of highly speeded speech probably involves a perceptual ability to be field-independent in addition to a separate ability involved in comprehending speech at normal rates.
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