Summary no.1

Does technology affect our everyday cognition? We aren’t just looking for one specific distraction but rather several factors that are distributive when trying to process information. Not only dealing with technology but everyday distractions. Our project focuses on both visual and audio stimulations. My fellow partners and I each took a section that deals with either visual stimulations or audio stimulations. Visual stimulations included; bright lights, sudden movements, and flashing lights. The audio stimulations included; annoying sounds, familiar voices, phone ringing, and music. I chose to research annoying sounds. I am trying to find articles that deal with whether annoying sounds affect ones ability to concentrate or work on certain things.

The first article deals with people who work at a job which offers cubical desk units. These workers usually find themselves working hard on a project, when all of a sudden they realize that they aren’t able to concentrate on their work. Instead their attention is drawn to other people’s conversations; their neighbors ring tone, the vibrations of the air conditioner kicking on, or maybe someone typing on their computer. All of these annoying and distracting sounds can affect people’s mood and the way they processes things, along with their concentration.

The cubicles were designed to help people receive privacy in order to concentrate on their work. But it seems like the more society changes, the more commotion goes on at work. The article states “that noise is the most frequently reported problem in the modern workplace. Many people say that noise while working affects their ability to concentrate. Studies have been done that prove that noise in the workspace not only increases the level of concentration but it also builds the stress levels.” (Vickers, 2007, Discussion section, para. 10)

“While over half of office workers surveys reported feeling disturbed by frequent conversations and other distractions, some people are more disturbed by such interruptions than others. Introverts and participants who rate themselves as ‘noise-sensitive’ do more poorly than other subjects when tested in the presence of noise. Extroverts often prefer to study in the presence of noise or music, while introverts prefer quiet. However, under many test conditions, both introverts and extroverts are adversely affected by noise.” (Vickers, 2007, Discussion section, para. 13)

Interestingly enough, most people find it more distracted when someone is causing unnecessary noise like chatting, than someone doing their work with accidental noise like typing on the computer. Either way annoying sounds affect the way we process things in everyday settings. The second study deals with the factors of annoyance in the school environment which affects the student’s ability to focus and think. “Two survey studies where performed; the first studies main objective was to assess conceptual models of how different factors mediate and moderate the annoyance reaction. They presented people with a noise annoyance questionnaire.” (Boman, Enmarker, 2004, p.3)

The participants in study one were 13-14 years of age, both male and female. Two schools locations were used with a moderate outdoor noise level. Different factors were used to see which ones resulted in annoyance and how many different models mediate each other. The study showed what general sensitivity proved to be one of the strongest determinants for annoyance reactions. Adaptation to noise mediated this reaction.

Students found that the most annoying sounds during an ordinary school day were; sounds generated by other students and sounds from the corridor and the scrapping of chairs. Most of the students pointed out that the noise bothered them and usually resulted in the loss of attention to their school work. What I found interesting was how the students thought that the noise was most disrupting during math classes.

The participants in study two ranged from 18 to 20 year olds, both male and female. They had to formulate ideas about their annoyance reaction. “Their statements were employed to set up a model of mediating and moderating factors in the formation of annoyance. The interviews were also intended to find out new ways to alter the social and physical school environments to learning by reducing noise.” (Boman, Enmarker, 2004, p. 13)

This study was done as an interview. The participants were split up into groups of four, two male and two female. Smaller groups allow for conversation and participation. The interviews lasted about one hour and each interview was recorded. After the interviews the results were split into two categories; physical noise and interactive noise. The physical noise consisted of both indoor and outdoor noise.

In this second study they found that the most disturbing sounds are chattering caused by other people in school environments. The participants said that the unwanted noise made them stressful with the loss of energy and induced tiredness. They also expressed the difficulties on concentrating on their work with all the noise. This loss of concentration was experienced more during math classes and when reading.

Both studies prove that sounds of other people whispering and talking loud are the most annoying sounds that lead to the loss of concentration. Other distractions consisted of the scraping of chairs, ventilation systems, traffic outside, etc. These distractions resulted in headaches, daydreaming, attention loss, along with many more.

The final article deals with the affects of subway trains on students’ performance in school. Cohen et. al. (1973) found that elementary school aged children on the lower floors of buildings, directly exposed to high-intensity expressway noise, showed greater impairment of auditory discrimination and reading achievement than children on the higher-floor.

Bronzaft, McCarthy (1975) The school lies approximately 220 feet from an adjacent elevated subway track. Eighty trains pass along these tracks each weekday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. In trying to figure out if the subway trains’ noise affected the reading scores on elementary aged children in public schools; the students were presented with a questionnaire. (Bronzaft, McCarthy, p.4) The experimenters rated the noise of the room before and after the train passed, the score of the noise level with the train passing by was at 89bd and 59bd when it wasn’t. This clearly shows a big difference in noise levels.

Results of the study showed that students who were on the noisy side of the school building did poorly on the achievement test than students on the quiet side of the building. The students stated that they felt it was harder to concentrate and to do their work when the subway trains went by. On the noisy side of the building, the teacher was reported in having to scream in order for her students to hear her when the train was passing by. When she wasn’t screaming, she would have to pause until the noise of the train stopped. Obviously this affected the learning abilities of the students.

Interestingly enough, only 34 percent of the students on the quiet side of the building reported hearing the passing subway trains, while 77 percent of the students on the noisy side reported hearing the trains. Not only did the students report being bothered by the noise of the subway trains but also noise from the rooms next door.

The findings in the relationship of train noise and depressed reading scores are significant. Proving that annoying sounds of trains and other people being disrupting affects the way children process the information they are being taught.

Future direction for my particular topic is to broaden it. I found if very difficult finding articles dealing with annoying sounds and what affect it has on cognition. I will be talking to my group to find out if they had problems too. I think that these three articles have very good evidence and support our view on technology and cognition.

Reference:

Vickers, Earl. (2007). Coping with Speech Noise in Modern Workplace. Retrieved March 2, 2008, from http://chatterblocker.com/whitepapers/conversational_distraction.html

Boman, Eva., Enmarker, Ingela. (March 2004). Factors affecting pupils’ noise annoyance in schools: the building and testing of models [Electronic version]. Environment and behavior vol. 36, no. 2. Retrieved March 2, 2008, from http://ft.csa.com/ids70/resolver.php?sessid=ca2c5fe264dc2db43e5592a273f9309c&server=www-mi9.csa.com&check=49dc414e69a5c1876c99fde7688b4bc7&db=sagepsyc-set-c&key=0013-9165%2F10.1177_0013916503256644&mode=pdf

Bronzaft, Arline L., McCarthy, Dennis P. (n.d.). The effect of elevated train noise on reading ability. Retrieved March 6, 2008 from http://ft.csa.com/ids70/resolver.php?sessid=dbc1da81c08af6fa18a709f65e86eb2b&server=www-mi7.csa.com&check=f719ed7d8ce814480ebbf01fc04fdddc&db=sagepsyc-set-c&key=0013-9165%2F10.1177_001391657500700406&mode=pdf