Sound

Jahncke and her colleagues explored the performance repercussions of noise in open-plan offices.  Their “Analyses indicate that [study] participants remembered fewer words, rated themselves as more tired, and were less motivated with work in noise compared to low noise.” The noise condition exposed workers to 51 LAeq while the low noise experience was of 39 LAeq.  Wikipedia describes LAeq as the average noise level in a space, measured in dB(A).

When is a “halfalogue” worse than a monologue or a dialogue?  Whenever it’s being overheard.  Emberson and her colleagues have branded the part of a cell phone conversation that is overheard a “halfalogue” and have determined why they’re so irritating.  It’s because “the unpredictable informational content of halfalogues . . . results in distraction . . .

Previous research has indicated the value of music and scent in retail environments.  New research by Morrison and his colleagues enhances our understanding of their use in markets.  Music at high and low volumes and a vanilla scent were introduced into a real store selling fashion merchandise appealing to a young crowd.   Researchers determined that “The arousal induced by music and aroma results in increased pleasure levels, which in turn positively influences shopper behaviors, including time and money spent, approach behavior, and satisfaction with the shopping exper

Solet and her team have investigated the noise levels that can be experienced by hospital patients during the night.  Their “results provide evidence that repeated arousals occur from common hospital noises at typical decibel levels even in healthy young adults.  The reported responses varied with the sound stimulus characteristics and across different sleep stages.”  Although their data were collected in a sleep laboratory, the researchers were careful to recreate the sound levels and types experienced by hospital patients by using recordings of noises made in hospitals.&nbs