1st Edition

Auditory Cognition and Human Performance Research and Applications

By Carryl L. Baldwin Copyright 2012
    343 Pages 38 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    343 Pages 38 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Hearing and understanding sound — auditory processing — greatly enriches everyday life and enhances our ability to perform many tasks essential to survival. The complex soundscape in which we live influences where we direct our attention, how we communicate with each other, and how we interact with technological systems. Auditory Cognition and Human Performance: Research and Applications explores how we accomplish this no less than remarkable task. It provides an overview of key auditory sensation and perception topics and mental workload theory, providing those who may be unfamiliar with these topics a foundation on which to understand applied auditory cognition.

    The book examines the relationship between auditory cognition and human performance, highlighting the nature of situations in which the mental resource requirements of auditory processing may be compromised. It focuses on the importance of increasing our understanding of auditory cognition and its relationship to human performance. Written in an accessible and engaging style, this book balances coverage of basic and applied research, supplies copious examples to explain key concepts, and includes extensive references for further reading and exploration. Bringing together coverage of sensory and cognitive processes, the author discusses how their interaction can be used to improve display design.

    Despite the relative neglect that auditory processing has received in earlier years, the auditory modality remains a potent source of information with several advantageous and unique characteristics. Over the past two decades there has been a growing base of empirical research on auditory cognition and its role in human performance at work and in everyday life. This book points out many of the questions that have yet to be resolved and provides the understanding needed to design more effective auditory displays, make better alerts and warnings, and improve communications and a wide variety of other things.

    Hearing: The Neglected Sense
    Introduction
    The Battle of the Senses: Vision versus Audition
    Early Human Performance Research
    Early Developments in Modern Cognitive Psychology
    Sensation and Perception Research
    Scope of This Book
    Concluding Remarks

    The Auditory World
    Introduction
    Sources of Sound
    Sources of Sound in Work Environments
    Sources of Sound in the Cockpit
    In-Vehicle Auditory Telematics
    Sounds in Medical Care Environments
    Auditory Devices for the Visually Impaired
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Auditory Pattern Perception: The Auditory Processing System
    Introduction
    Characteristics of Sound Perception
    The Sound Stimulus
    Music Processing
    Essential Auditory Processes
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Auditory Cognition: The Role of Attention and Cognition in Auditory Processing
    Introduction
    Attention
    Early Attention Research
    The Information-Processing Approach
    Working Memory
    Serial versus Parallel Processing
    Artificial Neural Networks
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Theories and Techniques of Mental Workload Assessment
    Introduction
    Limited-Capacity Models
    Resource Theories
    Working Memory Processes
    Multiple Resources—Multiple Networks
    Mental Workload: Key Constructs
    Mental Workload Assessment
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Auditory Tasks in Cognitive Research
    Introduction
    Historical Beginnings
    Dichotic Listening Tasks
    Encoding and Retrieval Processes
    Auditory Task Indices of Working Memory
    Psychological Refractory Period
    Mental Workload Assessment
    Auditory Neuropsychological Tests
    Auditory Tasks in Cognitive Aging Research
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Nonverbal Sounds and Workload
    Introduction
    Auditory Perceptual Organization
    Auditory Object Recognition
    Music
    Music Defined
    Music and Performance
    Music and Cognition
    The Mozart Effect
    Musical Training
    Noise
    Chronic Noise Exposure
    Auditory Vigilance
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Mental Workload and Speech Processing
    Introduction
    Chapter Overview
    Speech-Processing Challenges
    Lexical Selection
    Syntactical Level
    Approaches to Speech-Processing Theory
    Models of Word Recognition
    Parameters Influencing Mental Workload
    Applications
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Cross-Modal Influences in Sound and Speech
    Introduction
    Verbal and Visual Codes
    Language by Ear and by Eye
    Cross-Modal Links
    Audiovisual Speech
    Cross-Modal Spatial Attention
    Time-Sharing Auditory and Visual Tasks
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Auditory Processing and the Older Adult
    Introduction
    Age-Related Changes in Auditory Processing
    Age-Related Changes in Hearing
    Age-Related Cognitive Changes
    Age-Related Changes in Speech Processing
    Strategy Differences and Compensation
    Age-Related Design
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    Auditory Display Design
    Introduction
    Advantages of Auditory Displays
    Auditory Display Challenges
    Psychoacoustics of Auditory Displays
    Data Sonification
    Auditory Displays in Complex Environments
    Summary
    Concluding Remarks

    References
    Index

    Biography

    Carryl L. Baldwin