Community Noise

• Noise is everywhere (indoors as well as outdoors)• Noise seems accepted as a necessary evil in

industrial society• Noise gets less media attention than other, more

conspicuous forms of pollution• Noise affects health/well-being• Unlike industrial noise, watchdog agencies are less

obvious in community noise• Aircraft noise may always be present• Women, children, and the elderly are especially

vulnerable since they spend more time in their homes and neighbourhoods

Noise and Health

• Increase in hypertension (high blood pressure)• Increased consumption of medication• Increased hospital admissions• Increase in physician visits• Increase in cardiovascular problems• Increase in sleep problems• Increase in mortality• Lower birth weight babies• Slower height and weight gains in children• Hearing loss

Stress and Health

• Cognitive appraisal of stress (Lazarus’ model)

• Perceptions of danger vary with group membership and value systems

• Physiological effects- Coronary heart disease - High blood pressure

- Respiratory disorders - Cancer

- Gastrointestinal disease - Complications with pregnancy

- Headaches - Dizziness

- Sleep disturbances

Stress and Health

• Psychological effects– Contributes to substance and alcohol abuse,

smoking, and poor eating habits– These can increase vulnerability to depression,

anxiety and sleep maladies

• Coping attempts (direct and indirect)• Certain groups are more at risk• Prolonged stress is life threatening

Noise and Children

• Children may be more vulnerable because:– Spend more time outdoors– Physical growth/development is incomplete– Better hearing– Poorer listening skills– Less developed language skills– Immature attention mechanisms– Requirement of a higher signal/noise ratio– Weak frustration coping skills

Noise and Children

• Noise Confusion in Baby Boys– Less space exploration– Less imitative behaviour– More rapid habituation to new sounds

• High Rise Apartments in New York City– Sound discrimination problems– Poorer reading skills

Noise and Children

• Bronzaft (1981)

P.S. 98 is located 220 feet from an elevated train line—classes were disrupted every 4.5 minutes for a 30 second interval.

Mean Reading Achievement Test Scores Before Noise Reduction

Quiet Side Noisy SideGrade 2 2.65 2.25Grade 3 3.06 2.63Grade 5 6.23 5.05Grade 6 6.94 5.99

Noise and Children

• Bronzaft (1981)– Students on the noisy side did significantly poorer

on the standardized reading test.– After noise reduction (rubber rail mounts, acoustic

ceilings), total noise decreased 6-8dBA (train noise level = 81-83 dBA)

– There were no significant reading test differences for quiet and noisy classrooms following the noise reduction interventions.

– Is a Hawthorne effect possible?

Noise and Children

• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Study– Difficulty with timed problem solving (but

interaction with IQ)• The longer they lived in flight path, the worse

they did.– The longer they attended school in flight path, the

more likely their blood pressure was high.– With insoluble problems, children from noisy

schools were frustrated sooner and gave up sooner.

Noise Effects in Children

• Poorer auditory discrimination• Reduced physical growth• Slower psychological development• Poorer progress on standardized tests• Lower tolerance for frustration• Heightened blood pressure• Lessened perceptions of control• Lowered attentiveness• Heightened distractibility

Noise and Altruism

• Page (1977) - Experiment 1

Noise Level % Helping

50 dB 60

80 dB 45

100 dB 35

Dependent measure: picking up dropped cards

Noise and Altruism

• Page (1977) - Experiment 2Dependent measure: picking up dropped

packages

Noisy street (92 dB) 80% HelpedRegular street (72 dB) 90% Helped

Provided physical help: 72% males

39% females

Provided verbal help: 14% males, 45% females

Noise and Altruism

• Mathews & Canon (1975) - Experiment 1

Condition % HelpingNatural noise (control, 48 dB) 72Medium white noise (65 dB) 67High white noise (85 dB) 37

Dependent measure: Number of arithmetic problems willing to

solve

Noise and Altruism

• Matthews & Canon (1975) – Experiment 2

No Cast Condition % HelpingNatural noise (50dB) 20High noise (87 dB) 10

Cast Condition % Helping

Natural noise (50 dB) 80High noise (87 dB) 15

High noise: lawn mower running with muffler removedLow noise: usual background noise in the residential

neighbourhood

Possible Explanations for Less Aid Under Noisy Conditions:

• Information overload may cause screening of inputs and a de-emphasis on needs of others

• Noise may function as a distractor• Noise may prevent verbal communication, raising

costs (efforts) of social interaction• Production of negative affect and mood change:

irritation, annoyance, unpleasantness • Aversive quality of noise may lead to escape,

reducing likelihood of assistance

Noise and Perception for Novel Items

• Korte & Grant (1980)

– Location: Dundee, Scotland (pop. 200,000) 2 locations in central business

district

– High noise (75 dB) Low noise (70 dB)

– Novel Items:1. Pink party hat worn by female, balloons tied to a

tree.2. Sign: “Attention: Project in Progress”, female

holding bright yellow teddy bear.

Noise and Perception for Novel Items

• Korte & Grant (1980)– Dependent measure: Awareness of object

Noise LevelHigh Low

Present 35% 56%Absent 65% 44%

Support for Milgram’s Overload Model