EFFECTS OF INTERMITTENT NOISE ON HUMAN TARGET DETECTION

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effects of intermittent noise on target detection performance. Specifically, the present study was designed to test whether the effects of noise presented at a 70% on-off, “neutral” ratio are independent of the noise intensity level. Four levels of noise were used: no noise, and 80, 90, and 100 db. The results revealed that detection time was not significantly affected by the noise level. The total number of errors recorded for each noise condition showed that, in general, as intensity level increased, the total number of errors decreased. These findings are related to the concept of “flexibility of attention.” © 1969, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.