Eva Boman

The effects of road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech on different memory systems.

To explore why noise has reliable effects on delayed recall in a certain text-reading task, this episodic memory task was employed with other memory tests in a study of road traffic noise and meaningful but irrelevant speech. Context-dependent memory was tested and self-reports of affect were taken. Participants were 96 high school students. The results showed that both road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech impaired recall of the text. Retrieval in noise from semantic memory was also impaired. Attention was impaired by both noise sources, but attention did not mediate the noise effects on episodic memory. Recognition was not affected by noise. Context-dependent memory was not shown. The lack of mediation by attention, and road traffic noise being as harmful as meaningful irrelevant speech, are discussed in relation to where in the input/storing/output sequence noise has its effect and what the distinctive feature of the disturbing noise is.

Strength of noise effects on memory as a function of noise source and age.

The objectives in this paper were to analyse noise effects on episodic and semantic memory performance in different age groups, and to see whether age interacted with noise in their effects on memory. Data were taken from three separate previous experiments, that were performed with the same design, procedure and dependent measures with participants from four age groups (13-14, 18-20, 35-45 and 55-65 years). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) meaningful irrelevant speech, (b) road traffic noise, and (c) quiet. The results showed effects of both noise sources on a majority of the dependent measures, both when taken alone and aggregated according to the nature of the material to be memorised. However, the noise effects for episodic memory tasks were stronger than for semantic memory tasks. Further, in the reading comprehension task, cued recall and recognition were more impaired by meaningful irrelevant speech than by road traffic noise. Contrary to predictions, there was no interaction between noise and age group, indicating that the obtained noise effects were not related to the capacity to perform the task. The results from the three experiments taken together throw more light on the relative effects of road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech on memory performance in different age groups.

Factors Affecting Pupils' Noise Annoyance in Schools: The Building and Testing of Models.

This article reports two studies intended to develop and assess conceptual models of how different factors mediate and moderate the annoyance reaction in school environments. In the first, a survey of 207 pupils was conducted where assumptions about mediators and moderators were formulated and tested. In the best model, general sensitivity and adaptation led to a higher degree of annoyance causing stress symptoms. In the second study, focus group interviews with 16 pupils were performed to set up a model of mediating and moderating factors from pupils’statements in the formation of annoyance. The objectivewas also to get their opinions aboutways to improve the sound environment in school. The interviews indicated a serial arrangement in which stress symptoms and distraction mediated between chatter and disturbance. Thus, the two studies suggested different models for the prediction of the annoyance reaction. The pupils’ views about how to improve the school sound environment are discussed in the framework of an empowerment model.