Effects of Aperiodic Noise on Serial Reaction: A Study of the Range and Consistency of Individual Differences with Repeated Measures

The range and consistency of individual differences in response to two exposures of aperiodic-intermittent noise were examined. A computerized 5-choice serial reaction task was used to measure the number of correct responses and mean reaction times for each of 30 subjects during the two exposures to quiet and noise. The results indicate that (1) noise presented even for short durations can have adverse effects on performance; (2) individuals do perform consistently in terms of accuracy across exposures to noise; and (3) a wide range of performance changes can be expected from subjects performing a task under noise. Implications for the design of man-machine systems are drawn and suggestions for future research are discussed.