One aspect of the sensory interaction phenomenon was reviewed, the effect of ambient noise upon signal detection performance. An objective of this review was to arrive at possible generalizations about the effects of noise through an examination of variables affecting both similarities and divergencies of results. A second objective was to discuss some of the limitations of noise research for theory and practice, using sonar surveillance in undersea warfare as a reference operation. The conclusions from the review were organized under two major headings:(I) effects of noise for the alerted operator case involving threshold sensitivity, and (2) effects of noise for the unalerted operator case involving vigilance behavior. The limitations of the literature for theory and practice were also discussed under these major headings.
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