Measuring the distracting effects of loud noises using computer games

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about the results of a small experiment I did in order to measure the distracting effects of loud noises coming from a nearby construction site using computer games.

Over a year ago, I wrote about the need for a quiet and comfortable workspace in order to work efficiently. Unfortunately, since I wrote this article, the loud noise caused by the workers right in front of my door has not subsided. As there is no way to actually stop them from doing what they do, I started to think about ways to measure the negative effects of the noise on my concentration using computer games.

After a short requirement analysis I came to the conclusion that I need to play a game that constantly demands my full concentration in order to be played successfully. Also, the game needed to be repeatable in order to allow for a comparison of the results. A game that perfectly meets those requirements is DiRT Rally as the gameplay of this rally simulation demands a player’s full concentration in order to drive the virtual rally cars at their limits and to comprehend the calls of the co-driver. Furthermore, DiRT Rally provides different short rally stages that can be repeated in custom events thus allowing for a direct comparison of a player’s performance.

In the end, I created a custom event consisting of four different rally stages belonging to the Sweden Rally in order to reduce the training effects due to the needed repetition. Subsequently, I completed the custom event while the workers were causing the noise and after the work hours when my concentration was not affected by their work.

The results of this experiments were stronger than I expected as, on average, I was 10% slower while my concentration was affected by the noise. In addition, I made more mistakes while I was subjected to the noise.

As a conclusion, the experiment’s results indicate that loud noises and potentially other distracting effects significantly reduce and disrupt a person’s concentration. Also, the results suggest that my work performance throughout the last year was permanently reduced due to the loud noises of nearby house building activities.

Lastly, I found it very interesting to observe that even very immersive activities such as playing computer games were significantly affected by distracting effects like loud noises.