Contemporary Problems in Perception

dimensions of personality are extroversion-introversion and emotionality-stability. The 'trait-psychology', on which this is based, seems at best dubious, at worst spurious. Nor is there any basis for the idea that 'the main personality dimension implicated in this field is extraversion-introversion'. Such an assertion could only be justified if all other 'dimensions' had already been investigated, which is not the case. Dr. Ingham's contribution makes the important point that self-selection in and out of jobs may play havoc with industrial surveys of the effects of noise which fail to take account of this factor. For the rest, he notes the absence of evidence that noisy jobs cause more, or more severe, symptoms than quieter ones. His conclusions that 'we cannot exclude the possibility that some older people are more susceptible to noise', and that others 'complain of more symptoms when they work in a noisy environment' may not, however, be regarded as particularly striking. In a way, the final paper, by Dr. C. W. Kosten, seems to be the most satisfactory in matter and presentation. He deals with a specific question, namely, annoyance due to aircraft noise near airports. He sets out the facts, examines them thoroughly, and formulates a number of helpful practical recommendations. If anything is shared by the participants, it is the doubt whether extrapolation from laboratory to field conditions is legitimate. Some of them are pessimistic about the possibility of coping with the complex interaction of factors in an actual industrial situation. The Proceedings should prove of interest not only to experimental psychologists, physiologists, and industrial medical officers, but also to engineers, architects, economists and regional planners. A few papers ought to be printed and made available to a wider readership.