Investigating the Effect of Urban Traffic Noise Pollution on University Students' Cognitive Performance: A Simulated Study

Cognitive performance in workplace encompasses a wide range of work-related psychological activities. Meanwhile, personality traits as a mediating variable has a determining role in mental functions and occurrence of errors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of urban traffic noise pollution on working memory and sustained attention considering personality features in university students.

This interventional laboratory study was performed in 70 students. Urban traffic noise (Sari, north of Iran) was recorded and then the Cool Edit Pro software was used to check, edit the recorded noise, and prepare an audio clip. The students' cognitive performance were assessed using working memory (n-back task) and psychomotor consciousness task (PVT).

The mean ages of male and female students were 23.63±3.15 and 24.17±4.23, respectively. According to the Wilcoxon test, a significant relationship was seen between cognitive performances before and after exposure to urban traffic noise (P<0.05). In fact, after exposure to traffic noise, the mean reaction time, response time, and the number of incorrect answers in cognitive tests increased by 8.54%, 9.11%, and 60.61%, respectively. Also, there was an inverse significant correlation between neuroticism and reaction time and accuracy (percentage of correct answers) in students' cognitive performance associated with working memory and sustained attention (P<0.05).

Current study can be effective in improving cognitive performance, adopting management strategies in selection of individuals, and establishing a balance between traffic noise and cognitive features in the workplace.