Understanding the determinants of the irrelevant sound effect: An analysis of task, task features, sound variability, and strategy use

Abstract

The irrelevant sound effect (ISE) describes the disruption of processes involved in maintaining information in working memory (WM) when irrelevant noise is present in the environment. While some posit that the ISE arises due to split obligation of attention to the irrelevant sound and the to-be-remembered information, others have argued that background noise corrupts the order of information within WM. Support for the latter position comes from research showing that the ISE appears to be most robust in tasks that emphasize ordered maintenance by a serial rehearsal strategy, and diminished when rehearsal is discouraged or precluded by task characteristics. Evidence supporting such a stance has been used to create a narrow narrative in which the ISE should only emerge on tasks with ordered output demands, when a serial rehearsal strategy is used, and in the presence of changing-state auditory distractor sequences. However, an ISE has been documented in many situations that do not match the scenario described above, thus raising questions as to what specific factors and combination of factors give rise to the ISE. The present study aims to disentangle each of the proposed contributing variables to the ISE by using eight working memory tasks that vary based on demands and features in the presence of multiple sound conditions. Further, strategy use is assessed on a task-by-task basis using an informed, multi-step process. The results reveal patterns of the ISE that do not match the claims made by rehearsal-disruption nor attentional accounts, and instead support a narrative in which poor cognitive control likely leads to the adoption of ineffective strategies for memory maintenance, and the combination of such factors increases one’s susceptibility to disruption by irrelevant sounds.