Noise, unattended speech and short-term memory

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Abstract
Studies of ‘noise pollution’ have typically used unpatterned white noise. The present study compares the effect of noise with that of unattended speech. Three experiments required the immediate serial recall of sequences of nine visually presented digits accompanied by silence, noise or unattended speech in an unfamiliar language. Experiments 1 and 2 showed a clear effect of unattended speech at both 75dB(A) and 95dB(A), while unattended noise had no effect in either study. Experiment 3 used a separate groups design combining 95 dB(A) noise and quiet with instructions either to remain silent or to rehearse overtly. Overt rehearsal enhanced recall, while unattended noise again had no effect. It is suggested that noise does not interfere with short-term memory but that unattended speech does impair performance by disrupting the articulatory loop component of working memory. Implications for studies of ‘noise pollution’ are discussed.

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