Influence of Noise Characteristics on Behavioral Aftereffects 1

Abstract

Two experiments were performed which were designed to replicate and extend the findings of Glass and Singer and others on the aftereffects of noise on performance. In the first, subjects were exposed to 24 min of 95 dBA fixed schedule (FS) or random schedule (RS) intermittent conglomerate noise or to 46 dBA background control (C) noise. After exposure. persistence on insoluble puzzles was least in the RS noise condition and greatest in the C noise condition. In the second experiment. subjects were exposed to 95-dBA intermittent white noise. Recorded nonnal aircraft flyovers, recorded combinations of aircraft noise peaks (AC), and Glass and Singer (GS) conglomerate noise or to 48-dBA background control noise. Following exposure, the GS and AC groups persisted less on the puzzles than the other three groups. In neither experiment was there an effect of noise on routine tasks performed during exposure or on a proofreading task following exposure. Also, there were no significant correlations between subjective ratings of the noise and the performance aftereffects. The significance of these findings is considered ill terms of existing theories.