The influence of complex classroom noise on auditory selective attention

Scientific Reports, vol. 15, pp. 32926

Abstract

Recent efforts to mimic real-life situations in experiments aim to improve the ecological validity of research. Acoustically, this often involves using binaural reproduction to create realistic environments. While studies have shown that simplified acoustic presentations, such as white noise, affect children's auditory selective attention without impacting adults, other research suggests that these effects might be overestimated in monaural scenarios. This underscores the need for more realistic approaches. The current study introduced spatialized, non-stationary classroom noise with and without speech, comparing it to white noise and a silent baseline in a child-appropriate experiment on auditory selective attention in a virtual reality classroom. Findings from adult participants, who were tested to validate the paradigm, indicated significantly higher error rates for realistic classroom noise compared to white noise and silence. Trials with intelligible speech as a distractor were particularly disruptive to auditory attention. Participants also reported higher mental demand, perceived effort, and task difficulty with complex noise types. These results emphasize the importance of using complex noise scenarios in auditory cognition research to draw conclusions applicable to real-life situations. This approach provides a more accurate understanding of how realistic classroom noise affects auditory selective attention.

Authors 7

1. Carolin Breuer corresponding Aachen Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany. carolin.breuer@akustik.rwth-aachen.de

   Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany

2. Robert Heinrich Schmitt Aachen Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany

3. Larissa Leist

   Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau

   Affiliation as printed

   Biological Psychology, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, 76829, Landau, Germany

4. Stephan Fremerey

   Technische Universität Ilmenau

   Affiliation as printed

   Audiovisual Technology Group, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693, Ilmenau, Germany

5. Alexander Raake Aachen Chair for Signal Processing in Communications Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University · Technische Universität Ilmenau

   Affiliation as printed

   Audiovisual Technology Group, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693, Ilmenau, Germany

   Chair for Signal Processing in Communications Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany

6. Maria Klatte

   Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau

   Affiliation as printed

   Cognitive and Developmental Psychology, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

7. Janina Fels Aachen Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany