Mechanism · 4 records
Speech interference
Intelligible or variable speech disrupts task performance
family: Acoustics
ND-0020 · 2005 · Review
Auditory distraction from low-intensity noise: a review of the consequences for learning and workplace environments
C. P. Beaman. Applied Cognitive Psychology
Low-intensity sound can impair serial recall and other tasks even when it is not subjectively loud.
ND-0021 · 2020 · Meta-analysis / synthesis
The relation between intelligibility of irrelevant speech and cognitive performance: a revised model
Haapakangas et al. Indoor Air
Performance declines became more likely as irrelevant speech became more intelligible; verbal short-term memory was especially sensitive.
ND-0022 · 2020 · Experimental study
Irrelevant speech effect in open-plan offices: A laboratory study
Kostallari et al. Applied Acoustics
Irrelevant speech degraded aspects of cognitive task performance in an office-like context.
ND-0134 · 2026 · Experimental EEG study
Neural signatures of auditory distraction and cognitive demand during working memory performance
Leitner & Wriessnegger. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 20, 1919376
Accuracy rose slightly under distraction alone and under time pressure alone, relative to baseline, and fell only when the two occurred together. Single demands appeared to be absorbed by compensatory effort; the combination was not.