Environmental Factors
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Technology and You
What kinds of activities and technologies distract you and affect your ability to listen? Are there any tasks you feel you can do without them affecting your listening ability?
Loud noise, such as what we experience at sporting events and rock concerts or when working around heavy equipment, is only one environmental factor impairing our ability to listen (and sometimes hear). Large groups present another difficulty, as they involve more people competing for your attention (Beatty & Payne, 1984). Distractions in your environment—a television on, a baby crying, a train rumbling by your house—can also impair listening. Indeed, local transit systems can be as loud as a rock concert (around 120 decibels) (Childs, 2009). Even the temperature or air quality in a room can be distracting enough to affect listening.
If you know ahead of time that environmental factors will distract you from a listening situation, you can take steps to eliminate distractions. For example, if there’s a classroom on your campus that’s always cold, even when it’s 90 degrees outside, bring a sweater or jacket to that class. Avoid busy public places when meeting for an intimate conversation. And if you must attend a lecture with a lot of rowdy individuals, get to it early and pick a seat closer to the speaker.