THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS NOISE LEVELS ON PERFORMANCE OF THREE MENTAL TASKS

In an attempt to determine the effect of various levels of constant noise and of variable noise on subjects' ability to perform three clerical type mental tasks, the following research design was followed: (A) The noise created by a battery of office machines was recorded. (B) The recorded noise was played into a reverberant chamber at various predetermined levels while subjects performed simple mental tasks. (C) Performance on the tasks was scored for the various noise conditions and the data were treated statistically to determine whether observed differences were significant. Results of the statistical analysis showed that the amount of noise was not systematically related to proficiency in performing the mental tasks. (Author)