Abstract
Using a probe-recognition technique the signal detection theory parameters d' and Beta were estimated for three types of probe (common surnames, uncommon surnames and synonyms) for material contained in a prose passage. Subjects were presented with the prose passage either in the presence of noise (85dBA) or in quiet (60dBA). In two experiments the effects of noise on auditory and visual presentation of the passage were studied. In both cases the recognition test took place in quiet. Noise decreased values of Beta for rare names and increased Beta for common names in both auditory and visual versions of the task. Noise influenced d' values in the auditory version only, with d' increasing for common names in loud noise. The results support the view that noise influences performance by disturbing the pigeon-holing mechanism with the qualification that when material may not be recapitulated (as in the auditory presentation in the present study) greater attention may be allocated to easily recognizable material. The findings give little support to theories of noiseinduced deficits in performance based on the masking of inner speech.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Broadbent, D. E. (1971). Decision and Stress. London: Academic Press.
Broadbent, D.E. (1981). The effects of moderate levels of noise on human performance. In J. Tobias (ed.), Hearing Research and Theory. New York: Academic Press.
Broadbent, D.E. & Gregory, M. (1963). Vigilance considered as a statistical decision. British Journal of Psychology, 54, 309–323.
Broadbent, D.E. & Gregory, M. (1965). Effects of noise and signal rate upon vigilance analysed by means of decision theory. Human Factors, 7, 155–162.
Cohen, S. (1980). The after effects of stress on human performance and social behaviour: a review of research and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 82–108.
Daee, S. & Wilding, J.M. (1977). Effects of high intensity white noise on short-term memory for position in a list and sequence. British Journal of Psychology, 66, 61–69.
Davies, O.R. & Jones, D.M. (1975). The effects of noise and incentive upon attention in short-term memory. British Journal of Psychology, 66, 61–68.
Fowler, C.J.H. & Wilding, J. (1979). Differential aspects of noise and incentives on learning. British Journal of Psychology, 70, 149–153.
Glass, D.C. & Singer, J.E. (1972). Urban Stress. London: Academic Press.
Hamilton, P., Hockey, G.R.J. & Quinn, J.G. (1972). Information selection, arousal and memory. British Journal of Psychology, 63, 181–189.
Hamilton, P., Hockey, G.R.J. & Rejman, M. (1977). The place of the concept of activation in human information processing theory: an integrative approach. In S. Dornic (ed.), Attention and Performance, VI, pp. 463–486. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hiroto, D.S. & Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Generality of learned helplessness in man. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 311–327.
Ingleby, J.O. (1973). A test of current explanations of the effect of item familiarity on memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 25, 378–386.
Jones, D.M. & Broadbent, D.E. (1979). Side-effects of interference with speech by noise. Ergonomics, 22, 1073–1081.
Jones, D.M., Smith, A.P. & Broadbent, D.E. (1979). Effects of moderate intensity noise on the Bakan vigilance task. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 627–634.
Poulton, E.C. (1977). Continuous intense noise masks auditory feedback and inner speech. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 977–1001.
Poulton, E.C. (1978). A new look at the effects of noise: a rejoinder. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 1068–1079.
Poulton, E.C. (1979). Composite model for human performance in noise. Psychological Review, 86, 361–375.
Rabinowitz, J.C., Mandler, G. & Patterson, K.E. (1977). Determinants of recognition and recall: accessibility and generation. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 106, 302–329.
Schulman, A.I. (1974). The declining course of recognition memory. Memory and Cognition, 2, 14–18.
Schwartz, S. (1974). Arousal. and recall: effects of noise on two retrieval strategies. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 102, 896–898.
Schwartz, S. (1975). Decision processes in recognition memory. In M.F. Kaplan & S. Schwartz (eds.), Human Judgement and Decision Processes. London: Academic Press.
Smith, A.P., Jones, D.M. & Broadbent, D.E. (1981). The effects of noise on recall of categorized lists. British Journal of Psychology, 72,. 299–316.
Wilding, J. & Mohindra, N. (1980). Effects of subvocal suppression, articulating aloud and noise on sequence recall. British Journal of Psychology, 71, 247–262.
Winer, B.J. (1970). Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jones, D.M., Thomas, J.R. & Harding, A. Recognition memory for prose items in noise. Current Psychological Research 2, 33–44 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03186742
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03186742