| Abstract: | Investigated the effects of loud white noise (100 db) on the temporal and spatial properties of the integration of 2-concurrent visual motor tasks by 32 Ss (aged 18–27 yrs). The main task was a 4-choice, self-paced, continuous response task presented by means of a display unit of an Apple microcomputer. The secondary task was a dot-detection task, in which a blue dot appeared occasionally in 1 of 6 possible unbiased spatial locations at the same horizontal reference above the main task on the same display unit. The 2 tasks were presented in both single and dual task conditions. Task order was counterbalanced, creating 4 subgroups for the quiet condition and 4 for the noise condition. Results show that in noise and quiet there was a single-to-dual task decrement on the main and secondary tasks. The slowness was more pronounced on the detection task in noise. Comparisons within the central task showed evidence that slowness in noise was created by the moments of actual concurrence of central task responses and secondary task signals; in the intervals between, there was evidence of compensatory speeding of response rates in both quiet and noise, but the effect was more pronounced in noise. In noise, Ss were more likely to interrupt the central task to respond to the dot, but this did not favor the dot-detection response. Findings are discussed in terms of a reduced-capacity model in noise that may cause changes in attentional parameters. (French abstract) (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
