Distraction for the eye and ear

The ways that extraneous visual and auditory stimuli impair human performance are reviewed with aim of distinguishing those sensory, perceptual and cognitive effects relevant to the design of human-machine systems. Although commonly regarded as disruptive, distractions reflect the adaptability of the organism to changing circumstances. Depending...

Effects of the office environment on health and productivity 1: Auditory and visual distraction

A pilot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of visual or auditory distraction in an office environment on productivity, concentration and emotion. Ten subjects performed a simple, standardized computer task in five conditions (undisturbed, 3 variations of auditory distraction and visual distraction). Results showed no effects of...