PMRP Journal of Research – Part A: Computational Engineering

Title

Impact of Occupational Noise on the Cognitive behavior among the Textile workers using Stroop Test - An Neuropsychological Functioning Assessment

Authors

Naveen Kumar R, Saravanan A, Praveen P, Sabari B, Srinath V, Soundar S

Abstract

Cognitive stressors are one of the major influencing factors on industrial workers’ cognitive functions. The purpose of this study was to assess the neuropsychological functioning of power loom workers located in Tamil Nadu, India, with the help of the Stroop test, which measures the response, attention, and processing speed against cognitive stressors. The Stroop tests were conducted for 100 power loom workers and 25 controlled subjects with three conditions: word test, color test, and color-word test. Since the mean inference score is at -3.0, the overall cognitive performance is acceptable, even though the age and BMI of the participants have differences. The statistical study highlights that demographic variables like age and education have a significant effect on the performance of the participants. The ERP data clearly indicates that the controlled subjects have stable patterns, whereas the power loom workers have higher variations in their cognitive responses. The above results indicate the immediate interference in reducing the cognitive stressors among power loom workers to improve the general well-being and productivity by initiating cognitive training and stress management programs

Keywords

Stroop Test; Cognitive Stressors; Power Loom Workers; Statistical Study

Full Text

Download PDF

References

[1] J. R. Prusty and S. Mallick, "Powerloom in textile industry: A study of Siminoi powerloom cluster of Dhenkanal district in Odisha," Journal of Asian and African Studies, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 1117-1134, 2024.
[2] T. Roy, "Development or Distortion?'Powerlooms' in India, 1950-1997," Economic and Political Weekly, pp. 897-911, 1998.
[3] L. Jain, "Handlooms face liquidation: Powerlooms mock at yojana bhavan," Economic and Political Weekly, pp. 1517-1526, 1983.
[4] R. Govaerts et al., "Work performance in industry: The impact of mental fatigue and a passive back exoskeleton on work efficiency," Applied Ergonomics, vol. 110, p. 104026, 2023.
[5] M. Basner et al., "Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health," The lancet, vol. 383, no. 9925, pp. 1325-1332, 2014.
[6] C. M. MacLeod, "Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: an integrative review," Psychological bulletin, vol. 109, no. 2, p. 163, 1991.
[7] M. Peskar, N. Omejc, M. M. Šömen, A. Miladinović, K. Gramann, and U. Marusic, "Stroop in motion: Neurodynamic modulation underlying interference control while sitting, standing, and walking," Biological psychology, vol. 178, p. 108543, 2023.
[8] A. Sarampalis, S. Kalluri, B. Edwards, and E. Hafter, "Objective measures of listening effort: Effects of background noise and noise reduction," 2009. Cognitive behavior among the Textile workers using Stroop Test 29
[9] M. J. Jafari, R. Khosrowabadi, S. Khodakarim, and F. Mohammadian, "The effect of noise exposure on cognitive performance and brain activity patterns," Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, vol. 7, no. 17, p. 2924, 2019.
[10] W. Van der Elst, M. P. Van Boxtel, G. J. Van Breukelen, and J. Jolles, "The Stroop color-word test: influence of age, sex, and education; and normative data for a large sample across the adult age range," Assessment, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 62-79, 2006.
[11] A. K. Troyer, L. Leach, and E. Strauss, "Aging and response inhibition: Normative data for the Victoria Stroop Test," Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 20-35, 2006.
[12] P. E. Comalli Jr, S. Wapner, and H. Werner, "Interference effects of Stroop color-word test in childhood, adulthood, and aging," The Journal of genetic psychology, vol. 100, no. 1, pp. 47-53, 1962.
[13] W. Huang et al., "Different cortex activation and functional connectivity in executive function between young and elder people during Stroop test: an fNIRS study," Frontiers in aging neuroscience, vol. 14, p. 864662, 2022.
[14] M. Ktaiche, Y. Fares, and L. Abou-Abbas, "Stroop color and word test (SCWT): Normative data for the Lebanese adult population," Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 1578-1586, 2022.
[15] S. A. Langenecker, J.-K. Zubieta, E. A. Young, H. Akil, and K. A. Nielson, "A task to manipulate attentional load, set-shifting, and inhibitory control: Convergent validity and test–retest reliability of the Parametric Go/No-Go Test," Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 842-853, 2007.
[16] R. West and C. Alain, "Age-related decline in inhibitory control contributes to the increased Stroop effect observed in older adults," Psychophysiology, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 179-189, 2000.
[17] J. Bryan and M. A. Luszcz, "Measurement of executive function: considerations for detecting adult age differences," Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 40-55, 2000.
[18] A. Ardila, M. Rosselli, and P. Rosas, "Neuropsychological assessment in illiterates: Visuospatial and memory abilities," Brain and cognition, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 147-166, 1989.
[19] S. Stansfeld and C. Clark, "Health effects of noise exposure in children," Current environmental health reports, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 171-178, 2015.
[20] J. L. Szalma and P. A. Hancock, "Noise effects on human performance: a meta-analytic synthesis," Psychological bulletin, vol. 137, no. 4, p. 682, 2011.
[21] M. G. Abbas et al., "Occupational Health Problems and Healthcare Seeking Behaviour among Powerloom Workers," Eastern Medical College Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 54-60, 2023.
[22] S. GUPTA, S. GULATI, and G. Gupta, "Metabolic syndrome in female workers from a textile mill: effect of noise," Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, pp. 400-402, 2017.
[23] J. K. Ljungberg and G. Neely, "Stress, subjective experience and cognitive performance during exposure to noise and vibration," Journal of Environmental psychology, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 44-54, 2007.
[24] R. Barbarotto, M. Laiacona, R. Frosio, M. Vecchio, A. Farinato, and E. Capitani, "A normative study on visual reaction times and two Stroop colour-word tests," The Italian Journal of Neurological Sciences, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 161-170, 1998.
[25] T. K. Vescio, S. J. Gervais, M. Snyder, and A. Hoover, "Power and the creation of patronizing environments: the stereotype-based behaviors of the powerful and their effects on female performance in masculine domains," Journal of personality and social psychology, vol. 88, no. 4, p. 658, 2005.