Noise has always been considered a botheration. Previous literature has shown the adverse effects of noise on several aspects of cognition and task performance. However, a key idea in noise literature is that deeming certain sounds as unwanted is a complex task and requires considerable analysis and thought in order to enable us to reach an agreement about what is noise and what is not. This becomes more evident in the context of research conducted on the effects of noise on creativity, the results to which have been inconclusive. While there are studies which show the detrimental effects of noise on creativity, there is also some evidence suggesting that for highly original individuals, moderate level of noise may lead to an increase in creative performance. This study tried to find some clarity with respect to these findings. 120 undergraduate (66 male and 54 female) students between the age of 18 - 25 were divided into four groups. Each of the groups was given 5 tasks from rCAB, while being exposed to silence, construction noise, sound of people talking, and traffic noise respectively. The group that took the test in silence performed the best, while the one exposed to traffic noise performed the worst. However, the results did not prove to be statistically significant. The study threw light on the high threshold of noise perception among the participants that could be attributed to any of the factors such as that of age or region. Future researches could look into individual differences that might affect performance under different noise simulations, thus providing more clarity to the findings.
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