On interpretation and task selection in studies on the effects of noise on cognitive performance

Frontiers in Psychology

Patrik Sörqvist¹ 

关键词: noise;    process impurity;    cognition;    behavioral level of analysis;    theory;    method;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01249

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

This paper discusses two things researchers should consider when selecting tasks for cognitive noise studies and interpreting their findings: (a) The “process impurity” problem and (b) the propensity of sound to capture attention. Theoretical and methodological problems arise when the effects of noise on complex tasks (e.g., reading comprehension) are interpreted as reflecting an impairment of a specific cognitive process/system/skill. One reason for this is that complex tasks are, by definition, process impure (i.e., they involve several, distinct cognitive processes/systems/skills). Another reason is that sound can capture attention. When sound captures attention, the impairment to task scores is caused by an interruption, not by malfunctioning cognitive processes/systems/skills. Selecting more “process pure” tasks (e.g., the Stroop task) is not a solution to these problems. On the contrary, it introduces further problems with generalizability and representativeness. It is argued that cognitive noise researchers should employ representative noise, representative tasks (which are necessarily complex/process impure), and interpret the results on a behavioral level of analysis rather than on a cognitive level of analysis.

【 授权许可】

CC BY