Radun and colleagues investigated the effects of impulsive sound on cognitive performance. They report that “Exposure to impulsive sound (65 dB LAeq) was compared with quiet sound (35 dB LAeq) and steady-state sound (65 dB LAeq). . . . Compared to quiet sound, impulsive sound caused more annoyance, workload, and lack of energy, raised cortisol concentrations, reduced systolic blood pressure, and decreased accuracy. . . . Compared with steady-state sound, impulsive sound was experienced as more annoying and causing a higher workload and more lack of energy. Impulsive sound caused physiological and psychological stress and decreased performance compared to quiet sound. . . . Impulsive sound . . . involves strong onsets, i.e., rapid elevations of the sound level, and a release of sound right after the impulse has reached its maximum. . . . examples in everyday life are walking, door sounds, ball games, keyboard tapping, and hammering.” Physiological stress was determined via concentrations of stress hormones, heart rate variability, and blood pressure readings.
Jenni Radun, Henna Maula, Ville Rajala, Mika Scheinin, and Valtteri Hongisto. “Acute Stress Effects of Impulsive Noise During Mental Work.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101819
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.