The Negative Affect Hypothesis of Noise Sensitivity

Daniel Shepherd, Marja Heinonen-Guzejev, Kauko Heikkilä, Kim N. Dirks, Michael J. Hautus, David Welch and David McBride
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Daniel Shepherd: School of Public Health, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 0627, New Zealand
Marja Heinonen-Guzejev: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, PO Box 41, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
Kauko Heikkilä: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, PO Box 41, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
Kim N. Dirks: School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Michael J. Hautus: School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
David Welch: School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
David McBride: School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-20

Abstract: Some studies indicate that noise sensitivity is explained by negative affect, a dispositional tendency to negatively evaluate situations and the self. Individuals high in such traits may report a greater sensitivity to other sensory stimuli, such as smell, bright light and pain. However, research investigating the relationship between noise sensitivity and sensitivity to stimuli associated with other sensory modalities has not always supported the notion of a common underlying trait, such as negative affect, driving them. Additionally, other explanations of noise sensitivity based on cognitive processes have existed in the clinical literature for over 50 years. Here, we report on secondary analyses of pre-existing laboratory ( n = 74) and epidemiological ( n = 1005) data focusing on the relationship between noise sensitivity to and annoyance with a variety of olfactory-related stimuli. In the first study a correlational design examined the relationships between noise sensitivity, noise annoyance, and perceptual ratings of 16 odors. The second study sought differences between mean noise and air pollution annoyance scores across noise sensitivity categories. Results from both analyses failed to support the notion that, by itself, negative affectivity explains sensitivity to noise.

Keywords: noise sensitivity; negative affect; annoyance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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