In contrast to background white noise, the detrimental effects of background speech on verbal working memory (WM) were often explained by speech interference in the same verbal modality. Yet, those results were confounded with potential differences between arousal levels induced by speech and white noise. To address the role of arousal, in the present study, we minimized the verbal interference by using a visual WM task to test the influence of background speech or white noise. Electrodermal activity (EDA) was recorded simultaneously to indicate participants' arousal levels. Results showed that both background speech and white noise significantly improved visual WM performance, which further correlated with individuals' changes of EDA signals. Taken together, our results suggest that background sounds of both speech and white noise facilitate visual WM by raising the arousal level. K E Y W O R D S arousal, background speech, background white noise, retro-cues, visual working memory | INTRODUCTIONPlaying background sound is a preferred working mode for many individuals. However, empirical studies suggest that such background sound influences human performance, either in a facilitating or a deficient way

Phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad have been proposed as two independent systems in working memory (WM). Previous studies suggest that background speech but not white noise declines performance of verbal WM.However, whether the background sounds influence visual WM remains unclear. In the present study, participants performed an orientation reproduction task while we played background speech or white noise.Electrodermal activity (EDA) and Electromyography (EMG) were recorded simultaneously. Results indicated that both background speech and white noise significantly improved visual WM performance, and such behavioral enhancement was significantly correlated with changes in physiological signals linked with arousal or emotion expression. Taken together, our results suggest that the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad is not fully independent and background speech and white noise facilitate visual WM through physiological changes in arousal and emotion expression.

The Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale measures state anhedonia in multiple domains, such as hobbies, food and drink, social activities, and sensory experience, and it has good reliability and validity in adult samples. However, no study has examined the psychometrical properties of this scale in adolescents. The present study examined its reliability and validity in adolescents with and without depression. In Study 1, 988 high‐school students completed the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale; 915 completed the second‐round survey 3 months later. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure. Additionally, internal consistency and test–retest reliability, and concurrent, convergent, and divergent validity were assessed in typical adolescents. In Study 2, the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale was administrated to 108 patients with major depressive disorder, 108 adolescents with subthreshold depression, and 108 healthy controls. Factor structure and convergent validity were assessed in the clinical and subclinical groups. Finally, a one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to examine the effect of depression severity on the scale scores. The results of Study 1 indicated that a four‐factor model (i.e., hobbies, food and drink, social activities, and sensory experience) best fit the data. Meanwhile, the scale also yielded good concurrent, convergent, and divergent validity, as well as high internal consistency and test–retest reliability, in typical adolescents. In Study 2, goodness‐of‐fit statistics also suggested a good fit for the four‐factor model in the two depressed groups. The one‐way ANOVA revealed significant group differences in the total and factor scores, whereby the major depressive disorder group had lower scores than the subthreshold depression group, whose scores were lower than the healthy controls, indicating excellent eligibility of the scale in depressed adolescents. The Chinese version of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale is a reliable and valid instrument to comprehensively measure state anhedonia in Chinese typical and depressed adolescents.