A reliable, easily administered performance test of selective attentional ability was sought. A monaural listening task provided a baseline control for adequate hearing and memory; a dichotic listening task then provided indices of ability to focus attention and resist distraction while a simultaneous listening task provided measures of ability to broaden attention and monitor multiple information channels at the same time. Results showed the binaural tasks to be sensitive to individual differences, revealing a wide range of performance scores on each task and a variety of performance relationships between the two tasks. These results tended to have high reliability. In addition, comparisons between tasks suggested that the dichotic listening task is the most difficult of the three tasks. Finally, significant practice effects were apparent for binaural tasks. Altogether, it was concluded that the three listening tasks used in the present study represent a useful method for the investigation of individual differences in and performance patterns of selective attention. (Author)