Auditory Cognition and Human Performance：Research and Applications

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 Applicationsexplores 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 IntroductionThe Battle of the Senses: Vision versus AuditionEarly Human Performance ResearchEarly Developments in Modern Cognitive PsychologySensation and Perception ResearchScope of This BookConcluding RemarksThe 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 EnvironmentsAuditory Devices for the Visually Impaired Summary Concluding Remarks Auditory Pattern Perception: The Auditory Processing SystemIntroductionCharacteristics of Sound PerceptionThe Sound StimulusMusic ProcessingEssential Auditory ProcessesSummaryConcluding RemarksAuditory Cognition: The Role of Attention and Cognition in Auditory Processing IntroductionAttentionEarly Attention ResearchThe Information-Processing ApproachWorking MemorySerial versus Parallel ProcessingArtificial Neural NetworksSummaryConcluding RemarksTheories and Techniques of Mental Workload AssessmentIntroductionLimited-Capacity ModelsResource TheoriesWorking Memory ProcessesMultiple Resources—Multiple NetworksMental Workload: Key ConstructsMental Workload AssessmentSummaryConcluding RemarksAuditory Tasks in Cognitive ResearchIntroductionHistorical BeginningsDichotic Listening TasksEncoding and Retrieval ProcessesAuditory Task Indices of Working MemoryPsychological Refractory PeriodMental Workload AssessmentAuditory Neuropsychological TestsAuditory Tasks in Cognitive Aging ResearchSummaryConcluding RemarksNonverbal Sounds and WorkloadIntroductionAuditory Perceptual OrganizationAuditory Object RecognitionMusicMusic DefinedMusic and PerformanceMusic and CognitionThe Mozart EffectMusical TrainingNoiseChronic Noise ExposureAuditory VigilanceSummaryConcluding RemarksMental Workload and Speech ProcessingIntroductionChapter OverviewSpeech-Processing ChallengesLexical SelectionSyntactical LevelApproaches to Speech-Processing TheoryModels of Word RecognitionParameters Influencing Mental WorkloadApplicationsSummaryConcluding RemarksCross-Modal Influences in Sound and Speech IntroductionVerbal and Visual CodesLanguage by Ear and by Eye Cross-Modal Links Audiovisual SpeechCross-Modal Spatial AttentionTime-Sharing Auditory and Visual TasksSummaryConcluding RemarksAuditory Processing and the Older Adult IntroductionAge-Related Changes in Auditory ProcessingAge-Related Changes in HearingAge-Related Cognitive ChangesAge-Related Changes in Speech ProcessingStrategy Differences and CompensationAge-Related DesignSummaryConcluding RemarksAuditory Display DesignIntroductionAdvantages of Auditory DisplaysAuditory Display ChallengesPsychoacoustics of Auditory DisplaysData SonificationAuditory Displays in Complex EnvironmentsSummaryConcluding RemarksReferencesIndex