The effects of music on short-term recall and state anxiety

Curbelo, Paul

The effects of music on short-term recall and state anxiety

Persistent URL

https://dspace.allegheny.edu/handle/10456/56756

Author(s)

Curbelo, Paul

Date Issued

April 2023

Abstract

Background music has become a common thing to hear for many people. Whether someone goes to a restaurant, a store, or even while studying at home, it is normal for there to be background music present as well. There is a large sum of research that suggests that background music can negatively affect performance during different types of cognitive tasks. Contrary to this, there is also evidence that music listening during the encoding process will improve retrieval when the same music is played, which can be explained by the potential effects someone's mood has on their ability to perform, as mood has been seen in a multitude of studies to affect cognitive performance and anxiety levels. Music has also been shown to lower symptoms of anxiety during cognitive tasks, so there is reason to believe a particular type of music could be used to lower anxiety symptoms while having no effect or even the possibility of a positive effect on cognitive performance. In this experiment, participants took memory tests with and without music, and were split into a group that listened to happy music, and a group that listened to neutral music. Results illustrated that music had no significant effect on overall test scores or heart rates. While there was no significant effect of music, trends were seen that could be explained by competition for resources on the brain, so further research to test intrahemispheric competition would help us understand the relationship between music, short term recall, and state anxiety.

Major

Neuroscience

First Reader(s)

Hollerman, Jeffrey R.