Failure to replicate the Scott et al. finding of reversed ear dominance in the Native American Navajo.

The apparent universality of left hemisphere language specialization in neurologically normal right-handed persons has been questioned by Scott et al. (Neuropsychologia 17, 89-92, 1979). They found that Native American Navajos had a significant left ear advantage on the dichotic C-V task, while Anglo Ss had a right ear advantage. We attempted to replicate this finding with essentially the same task, more Ss and four times as many trials. Results showed a very clear right ear advantage in Navajos. While we had previously questioned the Scott et al. conclusion on the basis of visual laterality test findings, present results directly contradict those of Scott et al.