Some Psychometric Properties of the Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities (TBAC)

Abstract

This study examined some psychometric properties of the Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities (TBAC). Two experiments are described that evaluate the psychometric functions and the test-retest reliability of the tests comprising the TBAC. The psychometric functions were established for young listeners with normal hearing and the test-retest reliability was evaluated both with young listeners with normal hearing and elderly listeners with hearing impairment. Results indicate that maximum scores on the TBAC are reached at presentation levels of at least 65-75 dB SPL. In addition, the reliability analyses indicate that the TBAC is a reliable measure for both young listeners with normal hearing and elderly listeners with hearing impairment when at least one practice test is given.

Full text

Journal
of
Speech
and Hearing
Research,
Volume
35,
929-935,
August
1992
Some
Psychometric
Properties
of the
Test
of
Basic
Auditory
Capabilities
(TBAC)
Laurel
A.
Christopherson
Larry
E.
Humes
Department
of
Speech
and Hearing
Sciences
Indiana
University
Bloomington
This
study
examined some
psychometric
properties
of
the Test
of
Basic
Auditory Capabilities
(TBAC).
Two
experiments
are
described
that
evaluate
the
psychometric
functions
and
the
test-retest reliability
of
the tests
comprising
the
TBAC.
The
psychometric
functions
were
established
for
young
listeners with
normal
hearing and
the test-retest reliability
was evaluated
both
with
young
listeners
with
normal
hearing
and
elderly listeners
with
hearing impairment.
Results
indicate
that
maximum
scores
on
the
TBAC
are
reached at presentation
levels
of
at
least
65-75
dB
SPL.
In
addition,
the
reliability
analyses
indicate
that
the
TBAC
is a
reliable
measure
for
both
young listeners
with
normal
hearing
and
elderly listeners
with hearing
impairment
when
at
least
one
practice
test
is
given.
KEY WORDS:
auditory
processing,
hearing
Impaired,
elderly
The
Test
of
Basic
Auditory Capabilities
(TBAC)
(C. S.
Watson,
1987;
C.
S.
Watson,
Jensen,
Foyle, Leek,
&
Goldgar,
1982;
C.
S.
Watson,
Johnson,
Lehman,
Kelly,
&
Jensen,
1982)
is
a
battery
of
auditory processing
tests
developed
from a
large-scale
data
analysis
of
a
battery
of
22
tests
(Johnson,
C.
S.
Watson,
&
Jensen,
1987):
This
test
has
been used to
evaluate auditory-discrimination
abilities
in
several
recent
investigations
(Espinoza-Varas
& C. S.
Watson,
1986;
Humes
&
Christopherson,
1991;
B. U.
Watson,
1991).
The
usefulness
of
this battery
of
tests,
however,
is
restricted because
of
limited
published
data
on
various psychometric
characteristics
of
the
TBAC.
The
present
study
sought
to
fill
this
gap
by
evaluating
the psychometric
functions
and the
test-retest
reliability
of
the
tests
comprising
the
TBAC.
The
TBAC
consists of
seven
discrimination
tests
and
one
nonsense-syllable
identification
test. The key
features
of
these
tests
are
summarized
in
the Appendix.
Tasks
vary
in
complexity
from simple
intensity
discrimination
for a
1-kHz
tone
to
temporal order
discrimination
for sequences
of
syllables.
The seven
discrimination
tests
of
the
TBAC
are administered
using
a
two-alternative
forced
choice
procedure.
In
this
procedure,
three
stimulus samples
are
presented
on
each
trial. The
first
sample
is
the standard
to
which
the second
and
third
samples
are
compared. The
listener's
task
is
to
determine which
of
the samples differ
from
the
standard. Thus,
the
task
is
basically
an
auditory-discrimination task.
Trials
are
presented
in
sets
of
six.
Within
each
set
of
six, the discrimination
task
ranges
from
one
that
is
easy
for
nearly
all
normal-hearing
listeners to
a
difficult
one
that few
normal-hearing
listeners can
perform.
The
step
sizes
between
the
two
extremes
vary across
each
task to produce
psychometric functions
using
a
constant-stimuli
method.
The
TBAC is
designed
to
yield overall percent-correct scores
of
75-90%
in
young adults
with
normal hearing.
This
article
will
describe two experiments
that
evaluated
some
psychometric
properties
of
the
TBAC.
First,
psychometric
functions
were
established
using
young
C
1992,
American
Speech-Language-Hearing
Association
929
0022-4685/92/3504-L)929$0
1.00/0

930
Journal of
Speech
and Hearing
Research
listeners
with
normal hearing.
Second,
the
reliability of
the
TBAC
for
young listeners
with
normal
hearing
and
elderly
listeners
with hearing
impairment
was
evaluated.
100
90
EXPERIMENT
1.
PSYCHOMETRIC
FUNCTIONS
OF
THE TBAC
Method
Subjects
Nine
subjects
participated
in
this
experiment.
All
subjects
were
young adults
with normal hearing ranging
in
age
from
19
to
32 (M
=
22.4
years). Young adult
subjects were
considered
to
have
normal
hearing
if
they
had
pure-tone
air-conduction thresholds
<
20 dB HL
from
250-8000
Hz
(ANSI,
1969).
Subjects
also
had
normal
immittance
mea-
surements
(normal
tympanograms
and
acoustic
reflexes
present
bilaterally
in
response to contralateral presentation
of
a
100-dB
HL
1000-Hz
tone).
All
subjects
were
tested
mon-
aurally under
earphones
with
the
test
ear
randomly
selected.
Materials
I-
o
w
z
O9
0
Z
Q_
80
70
60
50
35
45
55
65 75 85
LEVEL
(dB
SPL)
FIGURE
1.
Mean
percent-correct scores
at
each
presentation
level
of
the
performance-intensIty
function
for
subtests
with
significant
changes
(p
<
.05)
In
performance
as
a
function
of
level.
(1
= frequency
discrimination,
2
=
intensity
discrimina-
tlon,
7
=
syllable
sequencing,
and
8
= syllable
Identification).
The
TBAC
was presented
to
subjects
through
a
digital
audio
tape
deck
(Panasonic,
SV-3500).
The output of
this
tape
deck
was
routed to a
two-channel amplifier
(Mcintosh,
C24)
through
a
network
of attenuator
pads and
delivered to
13
pairs
of
TDH-39 headphones
mounted
in
MX-41/AR
cushions.
Calibration
of
the
materials was
accomplished
using a 1-kHz
calibration
tone
provided with the
TBAC.
All
presentation
levels
are
specified
as
the
sound
pressure
level
of
this
1-kHz
calibration
tone generated
in
an NBS-9A
coupler.
Output levels
were
monitored
continuously
with
a
voltmeter
measuring
the voltage
delivered
to
the network
of
attenuator
pads.
Procedure
Following
hearing
screening
and
acoustic
immittance
test-
ing,
subjects
were presented
the
TBAC as
a
group
once
a
week for
8
weeks. To
eliminate any practice
effects,
the
subjects
were
given the
TBAC at 75 dB
SPL
for
the
first
2
weeks
(See
Experiment
II).
Following
this,
subjects were
given
the
TBAC at
six levels
ranging from
35
to
85
dB
SPL
in
10
dB
steps
in
a
random
order. Four
subjects
dropped out
of
the experiment
before completing
the
testing
at
the
last
level
(85
dB
SPL).
Multiple-choice
answer forms were provided
for
each
test,
and
responses
were
collected
in
a
pencil-and-
paper
format.
All
testing
was completed
in
a large
acousti-
cally
treated
sound
room
having
noise levels
less
than
those
required
for threshold
measurements
with
headphones for
frequencies above
250
Hz (ANSI
S3.1-1977).
A period
of
approximately
90
min
was
required
each
week to
complete
the
TBAC. All
subjects
were
paid
for
their
participation.
Results
and
Discussion
The psychometric
functions
for
the
eight subtests
of
the
TBAC
are
given
in
Figures
1
and
2.
These figures
show
the
100
90
w
Ldl
0
(9
I-
L
Li
80
70
60
50
35
45 55 65
75
85
LEVEL
(dB
SPL)
FIGURE
2.
Mean
percent-correct scores
at
each
presentation
level
of
the
performancel-ntenlty
function
for
subtests
with
no
significant
change
In
performance
as
a
function
of
level.
(3 =
duration
discrimination,
4
=
pulseltrain
discrimination,
5 =
embedded
teat-tone loudness,
and
6
=
temporal order
for
tones).
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Christopherson
&
Humes:
Some
Psychometric Properties
of
the
Test
of
Basic
Auditory
Capabilities
(TBAC)
931
mean
percent-correct scores
for
each
of
the
TBAC
subtests
at
the
six
different
presentation
levels.
Mean
performance
on
each
subtest
is
represented by
a
numerical
symbol
repre-
senting
its
number
in
the test
battery
(See
Appendix).
The
data
from
each
subtest
were submitted
to a
repeated-
measures
analysis of variance.
The
first set of statistics
was
confined to
the
presentation
levels
of
35
to
75
dB
SPL
because
only
6
subjects
participated
in
the testing
at
the
85
dB
SPL condition.
Figure
1
shows
the tests
that
changed
significantly
(p
<
.05)
as
the presentation
level of
the
TBAC
was
increased.
This occurred
for
the
frequency-discrimina-
tion
(1),
intensity-discrimination
(2),
syllable-sequence
(#7),
and
syllable-identification
(8)
subtests of the
TBAC.
Figure
2
shows
the
tests
that
did
not
change
significantly
as
the
presentation
level
of
the
TBAC
was
increased.
These
tests
included
the
tests of duration-discrimination
(3),
pulse-train discrimination
(4),
embedded
test-tone
(#5),
and
temporal
order for
tones
(#6).
A
second
repeated-
measures
analysis
of
variance
was
performed on
the
data
from
the
6
subjects
who
completed
the
testing
at all
six
levels
(35-85
dB
SPL).
Results
indicated
that
performance on
the
frequency
discrimination
(1)
and
syllable
sequence
(7)
subtests
no
longer
changed
significantly
with
increasing
presentation
level.
For
the
tests that did change
significantly
with
increasing
presentation
level
from
35
to
75
dB
SPL
(Figure
1),
maximum
scores
are
reached
for frequency
discrimination,
syllable
sequencing,
and
syllable
identification
at
presentation
levels
of
65-75
dB
SPL.
Only
performance
on
the
intensity
discrim-
ination subtest continued
to
improve
throughout
the
entire
range
of
level.
This
is
not
surprising
given the
well-known
dependence
of
level
discrimination
on
presentation
level
(Jesteadt, Wier,
&
Green,
1977).
The results
of this
experi-
ment
indicate that
maximal
performance
can
be
obtained
for
young
listeners
with normal hearing
on
most
tests
of
the
TBAC
if
presentation levels
of
at
least
65-75
dB
SPL
are
used.
EXPERIMENT
2.
RELIABILITY
OF
THE TBAC
Method
Subjects
Three
groups of
subjects
participated
in
this
experiment.
The
first
group
consisted
of
8
young adults
with
normal
hearing
ranging
in
age
from
18
to
29
years
(M
=
21.9
years).
This group
listened
to
the
TBAC
at
75 dB
SPL
for six
trials.
The second
group
consisted of
7
young
adults
with
normal
hearing ranging
in
age
from
19
to
36
years
(M
=
24.4
years).
This
group
listened
to
the
TBAC
at
40
dB
SPL for five
trials.
The third group consisted
of
7
elderly
people
with
hearing
impairment
ranging
in
age
from
to
65 to 82
years
(M
=
73.7
years).
This
group
listened
to the
TBAC
at
75
dB
SPL
for
three trials. Criteria for
normal
hearing were
the
same
as
in
Experiment
I.
All
elderly individuals
with
hearing
impairment
had
bilaterally
symmetrical
(interaural
threshold differences
<
20 dB HL
at
all
frequencies) sloping
high-frequency
TABLE
1.
Individual air-conduction
thresholds
(dB
HL)
for
the
test
ear
of
the elderly
subjects
with
hearing
Impairment
along
with
mean
thresholds
for
each
frequency
and
the
standard
deviations.
8
Subject
.25
kHz
.5
kHz
1
kHz
2
kHz
4
kHz kHz
1
15
5
5
20 45
70
2
40
15 15
20 60
80
3
15
20
35 35 60
60
4
35
35 55
60
70
90
5
30 30 40 30 30 65
6
15
20 20 50 65
80
7
10
0
20
65
75
70
MEAN
22.9
17.9
27.1
40.0
57.9
73.6
SD
11.9
12.5 17.0 18.5 15.5
10.3
sensorineural
hearing
loss and normal
acoustic
immittance
measures
(as
defined
for
Experiment
I).
Subjects
were tested
monaurally under headphones with
the test
ear
randomly selected
for
the
subjects
with
normal
hearing
and
the
better
ear selected
as
the
test ear
for
subjects
with
hearing impairment.
Air-conduction
thresholds
for
the
test
ear
of
the
elderly
subjects
are
shown
in
Table
1.
Materials
The
TBAC
was presented
to
the
subjects
in
this
experi-
ment
through
a
two-channel cassette tape
deck
(Sansui,
D-W9).
The
output of this tape deck
was
routed to
a
two-channel
amplifier (Mcintosh,
C24)
through a
network
of
attenuator pads
and
delivered to
13
pairs
of
TDH-39
head-
phones mounted
in
MX-41/AR
cushions.
Calibration
of
ma-
terials
was
performed
as
in
Experiment
I.
Procedure
Following hearing
screening
and
audiologic
evaluation,
the
first group
of
listeners with
normal
hearing
was
presented
the
TBAC
once
a
week
for
6
weeks
at
75
dB
SPL.
The
second
group
of
listeners
with normal
hearing
was presented
the
TBAC
once
a
week
for
5
weeks
at
40
dB
SPL. Five
trials
were
used
instead
of six
because not
all
the
subjects were
available
for the
sixth session.
The
group of elderly
subjects
was given the
TBAC
three
times
at
75
dB
SPL.
The
first
two
sessions
were
on
2
consecutive
days with the third
session
1
week
after
the
first
session. Responses
from the
tests were
collected
in
the same manner
as
in
Experiment
I
and
testing
was completed
in
the same
acoustically
treated
room
as in
Experiment
I.
Subjects
required
11/2
to
2
hours
to
complete
each session.
All
subjects
were
paid
for
their
participation.
Results
and
Discussion
Figures
3
and
4
show
the mean
percent-correct scores
for
each of
the
eight
TBAC
subtests over
the
repeated trials.
For
all
3
groups,
the results
from
each
subtest
were submitted
to
reliability analyses including
calculation
of Cronbach's
alpha
and
a
repeated-measures
analysis
of
variance.
Cronbach's

932
Journal
of
Speech
and
Hearing
Research
TBAC
TEST
#1
1
2
3 4 5
6
TRIAL
TBAC
TEST
#3
1 2
3
4
5
6
TRIAL
100
90
I-
0
LLi
a
0
0
C)
H-
z
LiJ
Li
a
L'
0-
80
70
60
50
40
30
100
90
I-
80
80
Li
aQ
o
70
z
60
LJ
D
5
a
50
40
30
TBAC
TEST
#2
1
2
3
4
5
6
TRIAL
TBAC
TEST
#4
75
dB
SPL
Young
Normal Hearing
75
dB
SPL
Elderly
Hearing
Impared-
O
40
dB
SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
I I i I I
i
1
2
3
4
5
6
TRIAL
FIGURE
3.
Mean percent-correct
scores on
subtestb
1-4
of
the
TBAC
for
the
three
groups
of
subjects
In
Experiment
II.
alpha is
a
reliability
coefficient
that essentially
summarizes
the correlation across the
repeated
tests
in
a
single
number
that
ranges
from
0.0
to
1.0.
Results of
the
ANOVA
for
the
young listeners with
normal
hearing given
the
TBAC at
75
dB
SPL indicated
that
performance
on
only the
frequency
dis-
crimination
[*1;
F(5,35)
=
5.46]
and
syllable
sequence
[1#7;
F(5,35)
=
4.97]
subtests of
the
TBAC
changed significantly
over
the
six
trials
(p
<
.05).
The
Cronbach's
alpha
coeffi-
cients
for
all
eight
subtests
ranged
from
0.58
to
0.93, with
five
of
the
eight
subtests
having
alpha
coefficients
above
0.73.
Results of
the
ANOVA
for
the young adults
with
normal
hearing
listening
at
a
presentation
level
of
40
dB
SPL
indicated
that
performance
on
the
syllable-sequence
task
(#7)
changed
significantly
(p
<
.05)
over
the
five
trials
[F(4,24)
=
3.951.
Alpha coefficients
for
the
subtests
ranged
from
0.43
to
0.93, with
seven
of
the
eight subtests
having
alpha coefficients
greater
than
0.79.
Finally,
for
the
elderly
subjects
with
hearing impairment
listening
at
75 dB
SPL,
the
ANOVA
revealed
that
performance
on
each
of
the
eight
subtests
did
not
change
significantly
(p
>
.05)
over the
three
trials.
Alpha
coefficients for
the eight
subtests
ranged
from
0.57
to
0.90.
Table
2
gives
the
alpha
coefficients
of
the
eight
subtests
and
three
groups
of
subjects.
Results
of
the
reliability
analyses
indicate
that
the
eight
subtests
of the
TBAC
are
reliable
for
all
three groups
of
subjects.
Alpha
coefficients
are
generally
high.
The
excep-
tions,
in
which Cronbach's
alpha
was
<
0.7,
occurred
when
the
range
of
performance
among
the subjects
in
the
group
was
extremely
narrow.
Cronbach's alpha
is
not
a
particularly
good metric
of
reliability
when
the
individual differences
in
performance are small.
For
the subtests that
did
change significantly over
time
(primarily
the syllable-sequence
task,
Test
*7),
visual
in-
spection
of
the
figures indicates that
performance
improved
100
90
I-
0
Li
a
b,
o
o
z
LI
(D
Li
80
70
60
50
I I I I I
I
V 75
dB
SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
*
75
dB SPL
Elderly Hearing
Impaired-
o
40
dB SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
i
I
V 75
dB
SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
*
75
dB
SPL
Elderly
Hearing
Impaired-
O 40
dB
SPL
Young
Normal Hearing
I I i I I
I
40
100
90
(D
r'
z
Li
0
hi
80
70
60
50
V 75
dB SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
*
75
dB
SPL
Elderly
Hearing
Impaired
-
0 40
dB SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
I I I I I
I
40
30
I I I I
I
I I J I I
35
000-")
Augmt
1992
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Christopherson
&
Humes:
Sore
Psychoretric Properies
of
the
Test
of
Basic
Auditory
Capabilities
(TBAC)
933
TBAC
TEST
#5
1
2 3
4
5
6
TRIAL
TBAC TEST
#7
100
90
Li
LLI
of
z
0
n,.
b..
D,.
80
70
60
50
40
30
100
90
z
LJ
0
U
LO_
80
70
60
50
40
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
TRIAL
TBAC
TEST
#6
1
2
3
4
5
6
TRIAL
TBAC TEST
#8
1
2
3
4
5
6
TRIAL
FIGURE
4.
Mean
percent-correct
scores
on
subtests
5-8 of
the
TBAC
for
the
three
groups
of
subjects
In
Experiment
II.
only
over
the
first
one
or
two
trials. Thus,
stable
performance
can
be
obtained across
all
eight
subtests,
if
one
or
two
practice
trials
of
the
TBAC
are
given
before
actual
testing
is
performed.
General
Discussion
Results
of
these
experiments indicate that
the
TBAC is
a
reliable
test.
Minimal
practice
effects
may
have been
found
because
of
the
extensive
practice
given to each
subject
as
part
of
the
TBAC
test
protocol.
First,
each
subtest
is ex-
plained
and
an
example
of
each
is
given.
Next,
the
listener
is
asked
to
practice
on the examples.
Response
feedback
is
then
given
immediately
after
each
example. Finally,
following
this
general introduction,
two
practice trials
are
given
just
prior
to each
individual subtest.
Thus,
in
the standard
TBAC
protocol
the listener
is
familiarized
with
the tasks
before
actual testing
takes
place.
In
a
previous
study
using
the
TBAC,
Humes
and Christo-
pherson
(1991)
performed
correlational
analyses
with vari-
ous
measures
of
hearing
loss
and
TBAC
scores
and
showed
that
performance
on
the
TBAC
was not
significantly
corre-
lated with
the amount
of
mid-
or
high-frequency
sensorineu-
ral
hearing
loss,
except
for
the
syllable
identification
subtest.
A
similar analysis was
done
for
the
elderly
hearing-impaired
subjects
in
this
study.
The measures
of
hearing
loss
used
in
this
analysis
included
a
mid-frequency
pure-tone average
(500, 1000,
and
2000
Hz)
and a
high-frequency
pure-tone
average
(1000,
2000,
and
4000
Hz).
Results indicated
that
overall
performance
on
the
TBAC
was not
correlated with
the
amount
of
mid-
or
high-frequency
hearing loss.
This
is
not
too
surprising given
the
mild
amounts of mid-frequency
hearing
loss
in
these
elderly
hearing-impaired
subjects,
the
use
of
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
Li
0
(-
1-
0
Z
v
75
l
Y l
V
75
dB SPL
Young
Normal Hearing
-
a
75
dB SPL
Elderly Hearing
Impaired-
0
40
dB
SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
I I I I I
I
30
100
V 75
dB
SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
·
75
dB
SPL
Elderly
Hearing
Impaired-
O 40
dB
SPL
Young
Normal
Hearing
I I I I I
t
90
80
70
60
50
Ii
0
0
z
Li
LL
V
75
dB SPL
Young
Normal Hearing
*
75
dB
SPL
Elderly
Hearing
Impaired
0 40
dB SPL
Young
Normal Hearing
I I I I 1
I
V
75
dB
Young
Normal
Hearing
*
75
dB
Elderly
Hearing
Impaired
o
40
dB
Young
Normal
Hearing
AO-VD-V
a-aU
-a
c
40
30
l
..
r
.
r
,
W
' ' ,
is
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
-

934
Journal
of
Speech
and Hearing
Research
TABLE
2.
Cronbach's
alpha
coefficients
across
all
trials
for
the
three
groups of
subjects
In
Experiment
II.
Level
Group (dB
SPL) Subtest
Alpha
YNH 75
1
0.93
2
0.63
3
0.66
4
0.87
5
0.82
6
0.73
7
0.91
8
0.58
YNH
40
1
0.88
2
0.89
3
0.80
4
0.85
5
0.89
6
0.92
7
0.93
8
0.43
EHI
75
1
0.80
2
0.65
3
0.82
4
0.78
5
0.57
6
0.90
7
0.74
8
0.83
Note.
YNH
=
young
normal-hearing;
EHI
=
elderly
hearing-
impaired.
mid-frequency
stimuli
in
all
but
two
of
the subtests
of
the
TBAC
(7, 8),
and
the
presentation
of
the
TBAC
at 75
dB
SPL
in
this
study.
Conclusion
In
conclusion, the
experiments
discussed
here
indicate
that
the
TBAC
is
a
reliable
test
that
is
not
affected
by
moderately
sloping
high-frequency sensorineural
hearing
loss.
When using the
TBAC,
it
is
recommended
that
the
test
be
given
at
levels
of
65-75
dB
SPL
and
that
at least
one
practice presentation
be
used. Failure to
follow the
latter
recommendations,
however,
will
primarily
result
in
underes-
timates
of
performance
for
only
one
subtest
(7).
ACKnowledgmants
This work
was supported
in
part
by
a
grant
from
the
National
Institute
on
Aging.
We
thank
the
subjects
for
their
willing
participation
and
the
reviewers,
Bob
Margolis
and
Walt Jesteadt, for
their
helpful
suggestions
on
the
manuscript.
References
American
National Standards
Institute.
(1969).
Specifications
for
audiometers
(ANSI
S3.6-1969). New
York:
ANSI.
American
National Standards
Institute.
(1977).
Criteria
for
permis-
sible
ambient noise
during audiometric
testing
(ANSI
S3.1-1977,
R1986).
New
York:
ANSI.
Espinoza-Varas,
B.,
&
Watson,
C.
S.
(1986).
Temporal
processing
abilities
of
hearing-impaired
listeners.
Journal
of
the
Acoustical
Society
of
America,
80,
S12.
Humes,
L.
E.,
&
Christopherson,
L.
(1991).
Speech
identification
difficulties
of
hearing-impaired
elderly
persons: The contributions
of
auditory processing
deficits.
Journal
of
Speech
and
Hearing
Research,
34,
686-693.
Jesteadt,
W.,
Wler,
C.
C.,
&
Green,
D. M.
(1977).
Intensity
discrim-
ination
as
a
function
of
frequency
and
sensation
level.
Journal
of
the
Acoustical
Society
of
America,
61,
169-177.
Johnson,
D.
M.,
Watson,
C.
S.,
&
Jensen, J.
K.
(1987). Individual
differences
in
auditory
capabilities.
I.
Journal
of
the
Acoustical
Society
of
America,
81,
427-438.
Watson,
B.
U.
(1991).
Some
relationships
between
intelligence
and
auditory discrimination.
Journal
of
Speech
and
Hearing
Research,
34,
621-627.
Watson,
C.
S.
(1987).
Uncertainty, informational masking,
and the
capacity
of
immediate
auditory
memory.
In
W.
A.
Yost
and
C. S.
Watson
(Eds.),
Auditory processing
of
complex
sounds.
Hillsdale,
New
Jersey:
Lawrence
Erlbaum
Ass.
Watson,
C.
S.,
Jensen,
J.
K.,
Foyle,
D.
C.,
Leek,
M. R.,
&
Goldgar,
D. E.
(1982).
Performance of
146
normal
adult
listeners
on
a
battery
of
auditory discrimination
tests.
Journal
of
the Acoustical
Society
of
America,
71,
S73.
Watson,
C.
S.,
Johnson,
D.
M., Lehman,
J.
R.,
Kelly,
W.
J.,
&
Jensen,
J.
K.
(1982).
An
auditory discrimination
test
battery.
Journal
of
the
Acoustical Society
of
America,
71,
S73.
Received
July
15,
1991
Accepted
November
26,
1991
Contact
author:
Larry
E.
Humes,
PhD,
Audiology
Research
Lab-
oratory,
Department
of
Speech and Hearing
Sciences,
Indiana
University, Bloomington,
IN
47405.
For
information
concerning
the
TBAC,
contact
Communication
Disorders
Technology,
Inc.,
205
South
Walnut,
Bloomington,
IN
47404.
35
000-000
August
1992

Christopherson
&
Humes:
Some
Psychometric Properties
of
the
Test
of
Basic
Auditory Capabilities
(TBAC)
935
Appendix
Description
of
the
el
Test
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Ight
subtests
of
the
TBAC
Task
frequency
discrimination
of
a
250-msec,
1-kHz
pure
tone
as
the
standard
versus
a
comparison
signal varying
from
2
to
256
Hz from
the
standard
intensity discrimination
of
a
250-msec,
1-kHz
pure
tone
as
the
standard
versus
a
comparison
signal
differing
in
level
by
0.5
to
8.0
dB
duration
discrimination
of
a
100-msec,
1-kHz
pure
tone
as the
standard
versus
a
comparison signal
differing
in
duration
from 8
to
256
msec.
rhythm
discrimination
for
a train a
six
20-msec
pulses
of
a
1-kHz
tone
separated
by
an
interstimulus interval
of
40
msec
as
the
standard
versus
a comparison
stimulus
in
which
the separation
between
members
of
each pair
is
varied
from
40
msec
to 90
msec
discrimination
of
a duration
change
ranging
from
10
to
200 msec
in
one member
of
a
nine-tone
sequence
discrimination
of
changes
in
the
order
in
which two
tones
are
presented
in
a four-tone
sequence
discrimination
of
changes
in
the
order
in
which two
syllables
are
presented
in
a
four-syllable
sequence
identification
of
a nonsense
syllable
from
a
set
of
three alternatives
in
varying levels
of
broad-band background
noise