Quantifying the Impact of Cognitive Fatigue on Visual Attention and Decision-Making Performance
Biomedical Engineering
Rifca Shah
Abstract
Several studies have demonstrated that certain types of noise exposure have a significant impact on an individual’s cognitive performance. This study aims to quantify the effect of different noise exposures on cognitive performance. A total of 15 young subjects participated in the study in a calm, relaxing environment, to prevent other stress factors from interfering with the study. The subjects performed 2 tests, one focusing on decision-making and one on visual search ability, under a baseline condition and then under the influence of pink noise, white noise, and an industrial setting noise, all randomly selected for every participant to avoid any patterns. The stress response was measured via a physiological parameter known as Electrodermal Activity, commonly associated directly with the stress response in humans. The EDA response showed the greatest change under industrial noise compared to the baseline noise, followed by pink and white noise. However, these results were unable to statistically demonstrate any significance arising from the change in noise. The effect of noise exposure was related to the Response Time of participants during the test. The response time under pink and white noise was lower compared to the baseline condition, indicating the calming effect of these noise types. But surprisingly, the same pattern was seen under industrial noise. A proposed reason for this is the heightened arousal caused by such high-frequency noise. Nevertheless, future studies can explore more in-depth parameters, such as the effects of other psychoacoustic parameters, at extended exposure levels and for higher test durations.