Boundaries of Semantic Distraction: Dominance and Lexicality Act at Retrieval

Three experiments investigated memory for semantic information with the goal of determining boundary conditions for the manifestation of semantic auditory distraction. Irrelevant speech disrupted the free recall of semantic category-exemplars to an equal degree regardless of whether the speech coincided with presentation or test phases of the task (Experiment 1) and occurred regardless of whether it comprised random words or coherent sentences (Experiment 2). The effects of background speech were greater when the irrelevant speech was semantically related to the to-be-remembered material, but only when the irrelevant words were high in output dominance (Experiment 3). The implications of these findings in relation to the processing of task material and the processing of background speech is discussed

The effects of moderate heat stress and open-plan office noise distraction on SBS symptoms and on the performance of office work. Indoor Air 2004;14(Suppl

ABSTRACT Thirty subjects clothed for comfort at 22°C performed simulated office work for 3 hours at 22/26/30°C (7.4 g/kg dry air, i.e. 45/35/28 %RH) in quiet and recorded open-plan office noise (55 dBA) conditions. Warmth decreased perceived air quality (P<0.01) and increased odour intensity (P<0.05) and stuffiness (P<0.01). After 2 hours, forehead sweating was observed on 4/36/76% of subjects (P<0.001), while 0/21/65% felt "warm" or "hot" (P<0.001). Raised temperature increased eye, nose and throat irritation and headache intensity (P<0.05) and decreased concentration (P<0.05) and self-estimated performance (P<0.001). Noise increased fatigue (P<0.05) and decreased concentration (P<0.05) but did not interact with any thermal effects on subjective perception. In an Addition task, noise decreased the workrate by 3% (P<0.05), subjects who felt warm made 56% more errors (P<0.05) and there was a noisetemperature interaction (P<0.01): noise removed the effect of warmth on errors. Noise increased typing speed (P<0.05) and reading speed (P<0.05)