What is noise? Discuss the effects of noise on human behaviour.

Noise is defined as an unwanted sound or sounds that create an effective response. Some may not be disturbed by even a loud-speaker sound, on the other hand, some might even find whistle, tinkling of wind as noise. Thus, any sound “which an individual finds unwanted is noise.'

Noise (sound pollution) leads to adverse psychological effects. How the noise affect the individual depends on:

(a) its intensity (loudness), loud sound is often unpleasant and irritating.

(b) predictability, we can adapt more easily to a regular, predictable sound such as chirping of birds in the morning.

(c) Perceived Control: The negative effects of noise are reduced when individuals perceive that they have control over it.

Effects of noise (sound-pollution) on task performance:

(i) When the task being performed is a simple mental task, such as addition of numbers, noise does not affect overall performance whether it is loud or soft.

(ii) If the task being performed is very interesting, then, too, the presence of noise does not affect performance.

(iii) When the noise comes at intervals and in an unpredictable way, it is experienced as more disturbing than the noise being continuously present.

(iv) Difficult task performance requires full concentration, then intense, unpredictable and uncontrollable noise reduces the level of task performance.

(v) When switching off the noise is within the control of the person, the numbers of errors in task performance decrease.