A left-ear advantage for identifying the emotional quality of tonal sequences.

Tonal sequences differing in emotional quality were presented dichotically. Subjects listened to a specified ear and judged the emotional tone of the stimulus heard at that ear. Accuracy was better for identifying the emotional tone of stimuli presented to the left ear. This left ear advantage was greatest where the target and competing stimuli were of different affect. The findings provide further evidence for the role of the right hemisphere in processing emotional information.