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Show SCIENCE ... ,o nn tiro lis 3yl 1!?"- -- By JOHN E. GIBSON seems to bring more rv and more noise. ..... 'V Here's a luscious cake of a reason... hear myself think." What they learned may surprise you. What is the most annoying noise? Rosoarchers at Britain's National Physical Laboratory recorded a collection of the "worst" sounds they could think of, such as the roar of a racing motorcycle engine (without muffler), the of a the roar of jet aircraft taking off, the cries of animals in the jungle. The entire collection was then played back to a representative group of volunteers, and rat-tat-t- at jack-hamm- er, v I J j S ' y ' ' i .. - ' J ' i-- ,r , f 1 . t - - . ... .... . J" , - s ' ... h J t - ; - !.. - t '. V- -- " A - i . M s ' ' ! I ' ? , M . ? you are doing f jr . to try new Betty Crocker German Chocolate Brownie Mix. Now you can enjoy all the I fabulous flavor of Betty Crocker German Chocolate Cake in rich, chewy brownies. A brownie mix rich with the same swret, light chocolate flavor you love in the cake. And chewy with scrumptious coconut frosting mix right inside ! f A delicious experence. MUD tal work, should you seek out the quietest spot you can find? That will depend to s great extent on your own particular temperament. Many persons find extreme quiet more distracting than noise. Dr. David Harold Fink, a psychiatrist, n 00 personality tests and divided into two groups: those who were well adjusted and those who were judged to be maladjusted. The maladjusted group worked significantly better with loud noise thai, the group with the more balanced personalities. Why persons with an abundance of personality complexes should work better amid noise is the next question to be answered. Some scientists speculate that perhaps noise distracts them from their own unresolved emotional conflicts, or it may equalize internal and external pressures. g But don't persons have the greatest difficulty working under noisy conditions? As a general rule, this is not true. Investigators have found that neurotics can work in veritable bedlam without having their efficiency impaired but this applies mostly to neurotics. Calmer persona can be disturbed by unusual amounts cf noise. Psychologists at Western College for Women tested 174 students on an anxiety scale. They men- New. . . and only from Betty Crocker. 1 1 lit: Wet - Tim.. , i.-- concludes from his studies that most persons' mental processes function best when quiet is relieved by soft music. Why is it that many 'persons find quiet more disturbing than noise? Some persons can be- - II high-strun- their reactions were carefully noted. When the tests were completed, the scientists announced that the most annoying noise known to man is a sound you don't need to go any farther than your kitchen to hear: the scraping of a saucepan with a knife! ,1 if society, IN our progress Because of the increase in noise, scientists have been studying its effect on us in everyday work. They wanted to know how much truth there was in the remark "It's so noisy I can't nn come so thoroughly conditioned to working in noisy surround- ings that they can't work anywhere else. A sculptor had his studio workshop in a building facing one of the city's noisiest intersections. While he was away Family Wttkly, April t8, MS his wife had their quarters soundproofed for a surprise. But when the sculptor returned, he found that he couldn't work. It was too quiet. After several frustrating days, on a business trip, he had all the soundproofing removed immediately. Is there any proof that noise can help some individuals work better? Yes. In recent studies conducted at the University of Oklahoma, students were given were then given various types of exacting clerical work under two sets of conditions : very noisy and extremely quiet. Findings: the most anxious students performed significantly better under noisy conditions, while the least anxious students did best under quiet conditions. Just how much does noise affect ability to do mental work? That depends on the kind of noise. Studies conducted by the Medical Research Council d show that high-pitche- noise caused mental workers to make more errors; slowed low-pitch- ed down making ability. noise decision- |