Effects of background music on musical task performance and subsequent music preference

Musical Preferences and Effects of Music on a Reading Comprehension Test for Extraverts and Introverts

In an initial survey of musical preferences, undergraduate groups of 22 extraverts and 26 introverts (defined on the basis of a median split of their scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory) both chose and rated rock and roll as their favourite class of music. In addition, although extraverts reported working with music twice as much (50% of the time) as introverts (25%), both groups indicated that, when they played background music while studying, they kept the volume soft. Different groups of 24 extraverts and 24 introverts, equally split into music and no-music conditions, were then individually administered a retention test for two passages which they had just read. All subjects who heard music were played rock and roll at a low volume. Scores for extraverts were similar in the two conditions, but those for introverts were significantly poorer in the presence than in the absence of music. These results are interpreted as supporting a general model of arousal and performance in which the effects of extraversion and musical stimulation interact.

Effects of Three Different Musical Styles of Background Music on Coding by College-Age Students

This study examined the effects of different styles of background music on task performances of college students. In addition, students' perceptions of the music and the effect these perceptions had on performance were investigated. 96 undergraduate nonmusic majors were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: task only, task and classical background music, task and jazz background music, and task and popular background music. The performance task consisted of 220 eye/hand coordination problems, and a questionnaire was subsequently administered to the task plus background music groups to assess perception of the background environment. Analysis indicated that the experimental conditions had no significant effect on task performance.

'n Vergelyking van die invloed van barokmusiek en tradisionele Afrikamusiek op die leesontwikkeling van swart studente

'n Vergelyking van die invloed van barokmusiek en tradisionele Afrikamusiek op die leesontwikkeling van swart studente is in hierdie studie getref. Die resultate dui daarop dat, alhoewel die studente almal by die leesontwikkelingsprogram baat gevind het, die barokmusiek en die Afrikamusiek geen gedifferensieerde bydrae tot hul leesontwikkeling gemaak het nie. Dit blyk ook dat die studente wat aan Afrikamusiek blootgestel was, dit as meer steurend ervaar het. Hierteenoor het die studente wat aan die barokmusiek blootgestel was, dit as minder steurend ervaar en die indruk gehad dat die musiek tot hul prestasie bygedra het.

Effect of music tempo on task performance

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of music tempo on task performance. In Study 1, 44 undergraduate business students were asked to be "workers" in a stock market project by collecting closing stock prices and calculating the percentage of change in the price from week to week. Subjects were randomly divided into groups such that they either listened to fast-paced music while they worked, to slow-paced music, or to no music. Analyses of variance and covariance were conducted on both the quantity and quality of the subjects' work, using music listening habits as a covariate. There were no differences in either the quantity or quality of the work produced by the groups. There were some methodological concerns regarding Study 1, so a second study was conducted. The 70 undergraduate business students in Study 2 completed the same task under the same music conditions as in Study 1. Analyses of variance indicated women performed significantly better than men, performance was significantly higher in the rock condition than in the heartbeat condition, and subjects in the rock condition had a significantly higher perceived level of distraction by the music.