Effects of Varying Audio Frequencies on Reaction Time and Muscular Activity

Abstract

Audio perception is a key component in every individual’s ability to react to alarms in the case of an emergency. There have been few studies done which utilize human perception and physiological responses aimed to optimize alarms. Our study aimed to determine the audio frequency which would illicit the fastest and most volatile response, observing both reaction time and electromyographic activity. We predicted that higher frequencies would lead to faster reaction times and more muscular activity. However, we found that there was no significant difference between the reaction times or the electromyographic activity between the varying auditory frequencies. Although there was no significant difference between these reaction times, we found that 37.9% of participants reacted fastest to 880 Hz. Future studies should focus on extending the range of frequencies in order to incorporate a larger portion of participants’ audio range, sampling a larger variety of the population other than college students, and incorporating a more mobile version of the electrodes with the electromyography to more accurately measure the true reaction time of the subject.