Some Effects of Noise on Human Behavior

Past studies of the effects of high-intensity noise on man have presented a picture of conflicting results that are often contrary to expectations. Intuitively, we might expect intense noise to disrupt performance. However, Kryter (16), in an extensive review of the literature, concluded that intense noise does not affect performance and, further, that "nearly all industrial and laboratory experiments which report that noise adversely affects work output are open to criticism because of poor ex- perimentation and uncontrolled factors. (By 'work' is meant any mental, and motor tasks not involving communication by speech.) On the other hand, experiments carried out with proper control of all pertinent factors reveal that steady or ex- pected noises do not adversely affect psychomotor activity to any significant extent (p. 22)." Berrien (4), in an independent review of this same subject, similarly concludes that there have been few satisfactory studies "in spite of uncritical ac- ceptance of the assumption that noise because it is annoying must be harmful (p. 158).