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Environment and Behavior
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Ambient Noise and Cognitive Processes among Primary Schoolchildren

Peter Lercher

University of Innsbruck

Gary W. Evans

Cornell University

Markus Meis

Department for Man-Environment Relationships, University of Oldenburg, Department of Psychological Effects at the Hearing Center Oldenburg, Ltd

Although the evidence of adverse impacts of ambient noise exposure on reading acquisition in children is rather strong, a less consistent picture results from attention and memory studies in children chronically exposed to ambient noise levels. This study incorporated three cognitive measures in 4th-grade schoolchildren (N = 123). The sample was carefully selected from a representative sample by stratification on residential noise and parental educational level. The two sociodemographically homogeneous samples differed only in their noise exposure range (M = 46.1 Ldn vs. M = 62 Ldn). Individual testing took place in a mobile, sound-attenuated laboratory after prescreening for hearing loss. Chronic noise exposure was significantly related to both intentional and incidental memory. Recognition memory was also worse for the chronically noise-exposed children. No effects of chronic noise exposure were seen on visual search performance. These noise effects occur at lower, more typical noise levels as found in residential areas in Europe and North America in contrast to prior noise and cognition effects around airports and other loud noise sources.

Key Words: transportation noise • environment • memory • attention • children’s development

Environment and Behavior, Vol. 35, No. 6, 725-735 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0013916503256260
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