THE INTERACTION OF NOISE AND MILD HEAT ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND SERIAL REACTION-TIME

In a 2x2 factorial design two noise levels (38 dBA and 53 dBA) were crossed with two temperature levels (19-degrees-C and 27-degrees-C). A total of 64 subjects completed a 2-h, 20-min session, working with mental arithmetic, a recognition task, hidden geometrical figures, proofreading, verbal fluency, and the five-choice serial reaction task. In a pre-test session, exactly 24 h before the experiment proper, subjects worked with parallel versions of the very same tests in 38 dBA and 20-degrees-C. Multivariate analyses of variance were performed on the difference in performance between the two sessions. Results indicated an antagonistic interaction between heat and noise on the hidden figures test. For the recognition task, noise biased the response criterion towards being stricter. On the five-choice task, the higher temperature increased the rate of responding without increasing errors. Results are discussed in terms of arousal and overload theories.