Annoyance Research

Annoyance in the residential environment
The Netherlands is a small and densely populated country. People live close to one another and relatively close to various types of companies, industries, and public facilities that – to lesser or greater extent – encroach upon residential environment. Dutch citizens want to preserve the level of prosperity and to further develop the country. However, when this happens at the expense of the quality of people’s immediate residential environment, they become belligerent and start to complain.

What is annoyance research?
Encroachment of residential environment often leads to annoyances, which become visible when people start complaining. Through objective measurements, Motivaction determines the extent of noise, odor, or scenic view pollution. In doing so we define the scope of the problem. However, this is only part of the story as there is a discrepancy between objectively measured data and subjective experience. Not all noise, odor, and scenic view pollution is actually experienced as annoying. Motivaction’s annoyance experience research therefore correlates the subjective experience to objective data, such as decibels and odor intensity.

How does it work in practice?
Motivaction will put together a panel that corresponds to the population of the area where the noise, odor or scenic view pollution is at issue. Using a model we will then systematically measure the individually experienced annoyances. In this process, we make use of fixed scales and time units. The results of the subjective experience are then linked to objective measurement data, such as decibels, over that same period.

How will annoyance research benefit your organization?

Annoyance research will:

• Provide objective data by mapping out the degree of annoyance in relation to the actual noise orodor levels.
• Provide a complete picture that can be used as the starting point for a dialogue with residents, companies/industries, and the government.
• Allow initiatives to limit the experienced annoyances to be evaluated.
• Help initiate improvement programs for structural solutions.

Motivaction has applied this model successfully in, for example, the large annoyance research in the area surrounding Schiphol airport by order of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.