The Impact of Combined Heat and Noise on Short-Term Retention
Abstract
This thesis reports on the impact of combined heat and noise on the performance of a short-term memory retention task with two levels of difficulty. Thirty-two males, ages 18 - 35, were exposed to four different treatment conditions during four one hour sessions. These four treatment conditions consisted of: a control environment, a noise environment, a heat environment, and a combined heat and noise environment. Temperatures during the control and noise conditions were maintained between 68 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, while temperatures during the heat and combined conditions were maintained at 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Sound exposure levels during the noise and combined conditions averaged at 83.7 decibels with peak frequency exposures never exceeding 93.5 decibels for ten seconds. The task to be performed was a computerized version of game Concentration. Subjects were presented with both a 6 x 8 and an 8 x 8 grid of blank tiles and asked to correctly match as many tile pairs as they could in three minutes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA281744
Entities
People
- John S. Parent
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology