Previous work has reported that moderate ambient noise is linked to more original ideas than silence.
However, it is unclear whether this reflects reduced focus on immediate associations or a general rise in arousal.
We predicted that if reduced focus is responsible, noise should help only on tasks that reward remote associations.
Participants generated uses for everyday objects in silence or in moderate noise, and common and remote ideas were scored separately.
Noise increased the remote-idea score but did not change the total number of ideas produced.
The findings suggest reduced focus, although they do not rule out arousal.

המשפט שנפתח ב־Participants generated - איזו חוליה בשרשרת הוא?