OFFICE NOISE AND ILLUMINATION EFFECTS ON READING-COMPREHENSION

This study investigated the effects of illumination, office noise, gender and locus of control on reading comprehension. In the experiment 48 male and 52 female subjects completed a reading comprehension test in a between-subjects 3 × 2 × 2 (illuminance × noise × gender) randomized block design. Three levels of ambient illumination were used: 200, 400, and 600 lux (lx) mean horizontal illuminance; office noise had two levels, approximately 50 and 70 dB(A). Subjects were blocked by gender, and Rotter's internal-external locus of control scale was used as an attribute variable. There was a significant interaction of noise levels with internal-external locus of control. Externals outperformed internals in low noise; the trend in high noise was the reverse, although the latter trend did not reach statistical significance. © 1990 Academic Press Limited.