Not silence, just…quiet. Noise levels at a little under normal talking levels (what would that be, about 57dB?) - enforced both environmentally, and in people’s speech. Would people be calmer? Or more pent up?
I’m currently writing a book, and in one place in one part of it, this is the case. It occurred to me that I should check out what people’s reactions would be to living in an environment like this - if it would affect people at all, or if they’d just adjust and go on (like we do with city noise - though come to think of it, there have probably been studies about the psychological affect of that, too).
It might be nothing, but if anyone knows of any studies on the matter, I’d be curious to see them.
I don’t know if anyone’s ever done a study on it (and it’d probably be hard to control, due to all the other variables), but monasteries tend to be quiet places, and many even prohibit talking. The denizens generally find this calming and peaceful.
Being held in isolation for long periods is apparently a soul-crushing experience. People who’ve been through it say it’s almost unbearable, and studies have shown certain brain functions literally start to degenerate. However I think that’s more to do with the complete lack of social interaction or communication rather than the silence itself, and you’re asking about quiet rather than silence anyway, but I just thought I’d mention it.
Cutting off communication is a different matter. Monasteries which have a vow of silence generally end up developing a sort of sign language that the monk use amongst themselves.
You might want to read An Infinity of Little Hours and watch Into Great Silence, both of which are about the Carthusian monks in France. They spend the vast majority of their time in utter silence (broken only by mass and very occasional recreation). The book is the story of five young men who attempted to live with the restrictions, only one of whom successfully remained in the order.
They are both very interesting not only in their portrayal of ascetic monastic life but (in the case of the book) in the discussion of the effects of that life on their thoughts and behavior. For example, in one instance in the book there was a discussion of how petty squabbles still developed between the monks even in the atmosphere of no communication - one monk would be frustrated at how another one wore his robe or sang at Mass, for example.
Is there any documentation of the DETRIMENTAL psychological effects of vast open spaces and silence on human beings?
I read years ago that the German Army had a problem with “Melancholia” (depression) among its troops when they got onto the endless steppes of Russia and saw nothing but sky and horizon in all directions, day after day (presumably, silence was not a problem for the mechanized Wehrmacht). I’ve also read that pioneer women living on the plains were similarly affected by vast open spaces and silence without human backgroud “noise.” I found two quotes of interest related to this, one about the “terrible country” of a high plains plateau, by a 19th century railroad worker, and one by a German general writing for the U.S. Army War College after WW II about the German desert war in North Africa. He said the German Army had some problem with depression due to the open spaces of the desert environment. Their solution was enforced social activity.
I can testify that in certain places in Alaskan wilderness you can find yourself in silence so profound and utterly without human reference that it quickly becomes psychologically oppressive. I mean DEEP silence, where you can hear the swish of a raven’s wings as it flies overhead–and nothing else. In a short time, you find yourself intentionally making some noise to escape the “weight” of this silence, talking to yourself, humming, or just clearing your throat occasionally.
However, I’m not really addressing your question here, my issue being instead the extreme application of “quiet,” which someone already mentioned: too much of your potential “good thing.”
I do think that if you know where to look you can find studies done on the beneficial effects of quiet environments. If it were me researching this, I’d check with OSHA or look up “noise pollution” as an environmental issue.