Abstract
This research was undertaken to determine the repeatability of the deviation in auditory flutter fusion when utilized as a measure of induced mental stress and to evaluate the ability of auditory flutter fusion to reflect the effects of the environmental factors of temperature and illumination on mental stress. The research was directed towards general office work; therefore, the tasks and environmental levels utilized were representative of those commonly encountered in offices. Auditory flutter fusion is a sensory tantamount to visual flicker fusion and has been shown in previous research as a measure of induced mental stress. In each experiment, the deviation in auditory flutter fusion was used as a measure of the mental stress induced and there thresholds (flutter, fusion and flutter fusion) were utilized. An incentive system was employed in each experiment to hold the induced mental stress relatively constant. Experiment I and II were designed to study the repeatability of the deviation in auditory flutter fusion within subjects and between subjects. A completely randomized two variable design with no interaction for treatment by analysis of variance was utilized, where subjects and runs were the variable under consideration. In Experiment I, five subjects were used and each subject was run five times. In each run, the subject performed a mental multiplication task for a period of one hour under the following environmental conditions: temperature-75F; illumination-100 footcandles; and noise-none induced..
Hale, Paul Nolen (1970). Auditory flutter fusion as a measure of environment on mental stress. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -177885.