Modeling effect of five big personality traits on noise sensitivity and annoyance

Abstract

Background: The noise annoyance depends on two factors including noise source and psychological and internal processes of the receiver person. Due to the importance of noise annoyance and the potential impacts of personality traits on that, this study aimed to model the effect of big five personality traits on noise sensitivity and annoyance. Material and method: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on the 144 employees of an automotive company in 2020. The big five personality traits questionnaire: noise sensitivity questionnaire, and noise-induced annoyance scale were completed for the participants. The neural network and structural equation modeling were used to investigate the effect of personality on noise sensitivity and annoyance. Result: The results showed that extroversion and neuroticism had the most importance in noise sensitivity and noise annoyance while conscientiousness and openness to experience were found to have the least importance in these variables. The difference in the importance of these traits can be attributed to the moral and behavioral characteristics of individuals. The structural equation model also showed that personality can directly and indirectly (noise sensitivity) affect the noise annoyance. Conclusion: The existing evidence suggests that sociocultural differences significantly affect responses to noise. Since the effect of exposure to noise may vary from one person to another, these differences can apparently be attributed to the personality traits of individuals. © 2020 Elsevier Lt