Since past studies have shown that females as well as left-handers do not demonstrate a right-ear advantage for verbal materials, suggesting that linguistic functions may not be handled in the left hemisphere exclusively, a study was conducted to examine these laterality effects more closely. Subjects, 24 undergraduate students at a small college in Illinois, were divided equally into groups according to sex and hand dominance. Experimental instructions as to which ear to focus on were provided in a dichotic listening procedure, with left-ear attendance required in the first block of trials and right-ear in the final set. Results indicated an interaction between sex and instructions--with males performing better than females when asked to attend to the right ear, highlighting the importance of information processing strategies in asymmetrical performance. It still remains to be determined whether males have a more linguistically oriented left hemisphere or are more effective task demand followers than females. (A table of data is included, and 55 references are attached.) (ARH)