Does auditory streaming require attention? Evidence from attentional selectivity in short-term memory.

R. P. Carlyon, R. Cusack, J. M. Foxton, and I. H. Robertson (2001; see record 2001-16068-008) have argued that attention is crucial for auditory streaming. The authors review R. P. Carlyon et al.ʹs (2001) arguments and suggest that a pertinent literature, the irrelevant sound paradigm-demonstrating preattentive auditory streaming-has been overlooked. In illustration of this alternative approach, the authors include a novel single experiment demonstrating the impact of preattentive auditory streaming on short-term serial memory. It is concluded that R. P. Carlyon et al.ʹs (2001) results do not definitively demonstrate that auditory streaming processes are dependent on attention; indeed, they are compatible with alternative accounts of the relationship between perceptual organization and attention.