There has been some research done into why this is (I'm citing a personality course I took), and it could be because some people's brains have a lack of stimulation, and others are overstimulated. The people lacking stimulation find it easier to think in noisy environments because they're full of stimuli. This might also explain some of the traits of introverted/extroverted people.
interesting! that seems to be consistent with my experience. I can never work at my quiet office where just sitting down bores me to tears and puts me to sleep in less than an hour. working at a cafe on the other hand I can go on for hours.
Do you have more info on the introvert/extrovert link?
Of course you should keep in mind potential confounding factors, but it's certainly interesting as an explanation. I'm not sure if there've been any studies where they took fMRIs while doing the lemon juice test, which would probably be a bit better.
