Abstract:
It is commonly assumed that working in an environment free of distractions can result in greater productivity and produce better results. This paper tests that theory by examining the effect of auditory distractions on task performance. A study was conducted involving eight participants who were tasked with reserving a parking spot on the website. Half of the participants completed the task with a distracting background audio playing, while the other half completed the task in silence. The study used a between-subjects design, and the participants' performance was measured by the amount of time it took them to complete the task, as well as the accuracy of the task accomplished. The results showed that the group without audio took longer on average to complete the task. However, the difference between the groups in terms of performance wasn’t significant enough to conclude that the audio distraction is what made the users take more time to complete the given task. There were limitations to the study that are important to note, such; as small sample size and convenience sampling. The study proposes that content distracting audio and task complexity could be further explored to gain a deeper understanding of the impact auditory distractions have on task performance.
