Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-Being
Irrelevant ambient noise can have profound effects on human performance and wellbeing. Acoustic interventions (e.g., installation of sound absorbing materials) that reduce intelligible noise (i.e., sound unrelated to the relevant speech, including noise from other talkers within the space) by reduci...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-04-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2021.620503/full |
| _version_ | 1818652833326563328 |
|---|---|
| author | Rachel Doggett Elizabeth J. Sander James Birt Matthew Ottley Oliver Baumann |
| author_facet | Rachel Doggett Elizabeth J. Sander James Birt Matthew Ottley Oliver Baumann |
| author_sort | Rachel Doggett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Irrelevant ambient noise can have profound effects on human performance and wellbeing. Acoustic interventions (e.g., installation of sound absorbing materials) that reduce intelligible noise (i.e., sound unrelated to the relevant speech, including noise from other talkers within the space) by reducing room reverberation, have been found to be an effective means to alleviate the negative effects of noise on cognitive performance. However, these interventions are expensive, and it is difficult to evaluate their impact in the field. Virtual reality (VR) provides a promising simulation platform to evaluate the likely impact of varied acoustic interventions before they are chosen and installed. This study employed a virtual classroom environment to evaluate whether an intervention to reduce reverberation can be simulated successfully in VR and mitigate the effects of ambient noise on cognitive performance, physiological stress, and mood. The repeated-measures experimental design consisted of three acoustic conditions: no ambient noise, typical open-plan classroom ambient noise without acoustic treatment, and the same ambient noise with acoustic treatment to reduce reverberation. Results revealed that ambient noise negatively affected participants’ cognitive performance but had no measurable effect on physiological stress or self-reported mood. Importantly, the negative effect of ambient noise was completely ameliorated by the acoustic treatment (i.e. indistinguishable from performance in the no noise condition). The study shows that VR provides an effective and efficient means to evaluate the cognitive effects of acoustic interventions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T02:28:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5877af462a6e418d85122b878cd7d731 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4192 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T02:28:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| spelling | doaj.art-5877af462a6e418d85122b878cd7d7312022-12-21T22:07:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Virtual Reality2673-41922021-04-01210.3389/frvir.2021.620503620503Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-BeingRachel Doggett0Elizabeth J. Sander1James Birt2Matthew Ottley3Oliver Baumann4Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaBusiness School, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaFaculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaMarshall Day Acoustics, Sydney, VIC, AustraliaFaculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaIrrelevant ambient noise can have profound effects on human performance and wellbeing. Acoustic interventions (e.g., installation of sound absorbing materials) that reduce intelligible noise (i.e., sound unrelated to the relevant speech, including noise from other talkers within the space) by reducing room reverberation, have been found to be an effective means to alleviate the negative effects of noise on cognitive performance. However, these interventions are expensive, and it is difficult to evaluate their impact in the field. Virtual reality (VR) provides a promising simulation platform to evaluate the likely impact of varied acoustic interventions before they are chosen and installed. This study employed a virtual classroom environment to evaluate whether an intervention to reduce reverberation can be simulated successfully in VR and mitigate the effects of ambient noise on cognitive performance, physiological stress, and mood. The repeated-measures experimental design consisted of three acoustic conditions: no ambient noise, typical open-plan classroom ambient noise without acoustic treatment, and the same ambient noise with acoustic treatment to reduce reverberation. Results revealed that ambient noise negatively affected participants’ cognitive performance but had no measurable effect on physiological stress or self-reported mood. Importantly, the negative effect of ambient noise was completely ameliorated by the acoustic treatment (i.e. indistinguishable from performance in the no noise condition). The study shows that VR provides an effective and efficient means to evaluate the cognitive effects of acoustic interventions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2021.620503/fullvirtual realityacousticspsychoacousticscognitive performancewell-beingheartrate |
| spellingShingle | Rachel Doggett Elizabeth J. Sander James Birt Matthew Ottley Oliver Baumann Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-Being Frontiers in Virtual Reality virtual reality acoustics psychoacoustics cognitive performance well-being heartrate |
| title | Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-Being |
| title_full | Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-Being |
| title_fullStr | Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-Being |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-Being |
| title_short | Using Virtual Reality to Evaluate the Impact of Room Acoustics on Cognitive Performance and Well-Being |
| title_sort | using virtual reality to evaluate the impact of room acoustics on cognitive performance and well being |
| topic | virtual reality acoustics psychoacoustics cognitive performance well-being heartrate |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2021.620503/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT racheldoggett usingvirtualrealitytoevaluatetheimpactofroomacousticsoncognitiveperformanceandwellbeing AT elizabethjsander usingvirtualrealitytoevaluatetheimpactofroomacousticsoncognitiveperformanceandwellbeing AT jamesbirt usingvirtualrealitytoevaluatetheimpactofroomacousticsoncognitiveperformanceandwellbeing AT matthewottley usingvirtualrealitytoevaluatetheimpactofroomacousticsoncognitiveperformanceandwellbeing AT oliverbaumann usingvirtualrealitytoevaluatetheimpactofroomacousticsoncognitiveperformanceandwellbeing |