Effects of noise upon introverts and extroverts

Abstract

The effects of noise upon arousal, mood, and cognitive performance were examined in two experiments employing selected groups of introverts and extroverts as subjects. In the first experiments, white noise at 60 dB produced higher physiological activation in introverts, but not in extroverts, as predicted from Eysenck’s theory of personality. Likewise, performance in a comprehension task was impaired in introverts but not in extroverts. Extroverts were also shown to display more subjective deactivation under noise, and to have greater habitual tolerance for noisy real-world environments. In the second experiment, exposure to patterned noise increased state anxiety in both introverts and extroverts, but did not affect aggressiveness. © 1990, The psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.