The influence of complex classroom noise on auditory selective attention

Recent efforts to mimic real-life situations in experiments aim to improve the ecological validity of research. Acoustically, this often involves using binaural reproduction to create realistic environments. While studies have shown that simplified acoustic presentations, such as white noise, affect children's auditory selective attention without impacting adults, other research suggests that these effects might be overestimated in monaural scenarios. This underscores the need for more realistic approaches. The current study introduced spatialized, non-stationary classroom noise with and without speech, comparing it to white noise and a silent baseline in a child-appropriate experiment on auditory selective attention in a virtual reality classroom. Findings from adult participants, who were tested to validate the paradigm, indicated significantly higher error rates for realistic classroom noise compared to white noise and silence. Trials with intelligible speech as a distractor were particularly disruptive to auditory attention. Participants also reported higher mental demand, perceived effort, and task difficulty with complex noise types. These results emphasize the importance of using complex noise scenarios in auditory cognition research to draw conclusions applicable to real-life situations. This approach provides a more accurate understanding of how realistic classroom noise affects auditory selective attention.