Traffic Noise at Moderate Levels Affects Cognitive Performance: Do Distance-Induced Temporal Changes Matter?

Leon Müller (), Jens Forssén and Wolfgang Kropp
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Leon Müller: Division of Applied Acoustics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Jens Forssén: Division of Applied Acoustics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Wolfgang Kropp: Division of Applied Acoustics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Urbanization leads to an increased demand for urban housing, which can be met by building dwellings closer to streets. Regulations often limit equivalent sound pressure levels which do not account for changes in time structure that occur when decreasing the road distance. This study investigates the effect of such temporal changes on subjective workload and cognitive performance. A group of 42 participants performed a continuous performance test as well as a NASA-TLX workload test under three different sound conditions, i.e., close traffic, far traffic, both with the same equivalent sound pressure level of L Aeq ≈ 40 dB, and silence. Additionally, participants answered a questionnaire regarding their preferred acoustic environment for concentrated working. Significant effects of the sound condition on the multivariate workload results as well as on the number of commission errors in the continuous performance test were found. Post hoc tests showed no significant differences between the two noise conditions, but there were significant differences between noise and silence. This indicates that moderate traffic noise levels can influence cognitive performance and perceived workload. If there is a difference in the human response to road traffic noise with constant L Aeq but different time structures, the used methods are not suitable to detect them.

Keywords: traffic noise; cognitive performance; perceived workload; continuous performance test; sustained attention; inhibitory control; NASA-TLX; noise preference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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