Decision making performance in a combined heat and noise environment
Date
1993
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Texas A&M University
Abstract
This thesis was performed in order to determine the ability to make correct decisions when presented with two stressors under four conditions: controlled (70'F and 65 dBA); heat (105'F and 65 dBA); noise (70'F and 83 dBA); and combined heat and noise (105'F and 83 dBA). The primary purpose of this study was to look explicitly at the effects of heat and noise in combination. The dependent factor was the mean number of tiles removed in two trials, each lasting four minutes. It was expected that the effect of one factor is not the same at each level of the other factor and the combined effect would reduce one's performance. This expectation was based on Grether's study (1973) where decrement was achieved above 85'F and Weinstein's study (1974) where distracting noises caused performance to decrease. Thirty-two subjects who were in the military or were soon entering the service were used in this study. Participants spent up to fifty-five minutes under each treatment. Care was taken not to schedule subjects within two to three days of their previous trial. This experiment used a four factor repeating Latin Square design to control for the two stressor variables. The mean of the conditions in which a stressor was presented (either singly or combined) differed significantly from the controlled condition. The subjects' performance increased under the heat, noise, and combined conditions as compared to the control condition. The mean of the combined stress condition exceeded the means of all other conditions. Although it differed significantly from the noise stress, it did not differ from the heat condition. No one stressor acting singly caused a significantly different task performance than the other. In conclusion, performance increased as a result of adding stressors. In this experiment heat and noise did not interfere with, but rather improved, task performance as no decrement in decision-making abilities of the subjects was noted during the conduct of this experiment. Analyzing the order by treatment effects showed a steady increase in performance. When comparing the slopes of the task performance lines, the presence of a subtractive interaction was evident under these conditions, but not significant. Hence, like Grether (1 971 and 1972 that involved heat, noise, and vibration), the results were not as expected when subjects were placed under these experimental conditions.
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Includes bibliographical references.
Includes bibliographical references.
Keywords
industrial engineering., Major industrial engineering.