How frequently does the average teenager listen to music while studying or finishing up some homework? The technique is so frequently used to ease the boredom that the majority of people do not even think about how it could affect their execution of the assignment before turning on their favorite tunes. Almost every survey done on the affect that music has on accuracy has shown there to be little to no correlation between the two. During a study done at the University of Wales, it was observed that “having [music] on while they worked was just as distracting as hearing someone talk.” (Doraiswamy, 8 October 2012) This observation would show that music most likely has a slight negative effect on a person’s ability to comprehend and recall information.
Music has been proven, with certainty, to have a strong effect on mood. The scientific cause behind this is that the rhythm and tone of different genres of music causing a person’s heartbeat to speed up or slow down. Depression and drowsiness are associated with a slow heartbeat, while excitement and happiness are associated with a faster heartbeat. Faster heartbeats can cause more productivity for short periods of time, so listening to upbeat music while doing a physical activity can prove to be very beneficial. It would make sense that this would be true for more educational ventures, too. Mood has a very defined role on the productivity of people, so controlling mood with music to perform better seems like a very sensible thing. The unfortunate factor in this is that according to a Binaural Beats survey, “the heartbeat will continue to increase until a person has become very stressed or drowsy, depending on the music type.” (Best Binaural Beats, 16 Feb. 2014)
The majority of stud...
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...e shown very little correlation between music and accuracy with math and literature. It seems as though a person’s favored music would be the music that would cause the greatest amount of distraction and therefore the worst scores on basic math and literature worksheets.
Works Cited
Manthei, Mike. “Effects of Popular and Classical Background Music on the Math Test Scores of Undergraduate Students.” School of Music- College of the Arts- University of South Florida. Steve Kelley, unknown. Web. 25 March2014.
Unknown. “How Music Affects Our Mood.” Best Binaural Beats. Unknown. 16 February 2014. Web. 22 April 2014.
Doraiswamy, Sheela. “Does Music Help You Study?” Mind the Science Gap. Risk Science Center. 8 October 2012. Web. 23 April 2014.
Unknown. “Survey says: workplace distractions affect productivity.” TechJournal. TechJournal. 2010. Web. April 23 2014.
There have been many studies done to find how music influences a child’s development. The College Entrance Examination Board discovered that students who took music appreciation classes had higher verbal and math scores than those who did not take the classes. (Stephens 2003) The U.S. Department of Education found that in 25,000 secondary schools, students who were highly involved in the music program did much better in math than any other students. (Stephens 2003) These studies and more have found that involvement in music increases chi...
According to Laurence O’Donnell, “Music is thought to link all of the emotional, spiritual, and physical elements of the universe.” This proves that music is more than a simple class teaching random notes. It is a common denominator between mind, body, and learning. One scholar shows that music causes a response that can affect a person’s mood; this is directly related to how a person acts upon their emotional response to music. He later talks about how music can have a positive effect on memorization and brain function (O’Donnell). The Center for New Discoveries in Learning stated, “Learning potential can be increased a minimum of five times by using 60 beats per minute music” (qtd. in O’Donnell). Most of the music that follows these types of beats is classical music such a Mozart and Bach. This is the type of music taught in schools, thus, enhancing a student’s ability to learn.
U.M. Nater, et al. "Listening To Music and Physiological and Psychological Functioning: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation and Stress Reactivity." Psychology & Health 27.2 (2012): 227-241. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
Involvement in music during high school leads to higher test scores. A group of students involve in music lessons scored higher on a mathematics achievement test than the students
Linder, Todd. “The Effects of Music on People's Behavior”. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec 2013. .
The idea of the Mozart effect began in 1993 with a study conducted by Rauscher, Shaw & Ky. This study involved 36 university students taking three different IQ spatial reasoning tasks and for each test used either Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major and relaxation music was played, silence was also used. The results of this experiment showed that students who had listened to the music of Mozart had better results for the spacial reasoning tests in comparison to silence or relaxation music. The results also showed that the impact of Mozart’s music was only temporary and only lasted for 10-15 minutes. Overall this study was very basic and had numerous flaws such as the sample size and also the variety of tests used to look at the impact of music (Rauscher, Shaw & Ky, 1993). In 1997 Don Campbell’s book The Mozart effect popularised the claim that music makes children smarter. This book created a public interest in music and brain development. The book uses Rauscher’s experiment as an example of what Mozart’s music can do which in this experiment shows a temporary increase in spatial reasoning, this however was misinterpreted by the public as an increase in IQ. The popularisation of the...
Musical intellectuals can create and reproduce music. Studies shows, that music and mathematics share a connection because they have similar thinking process. A study "showed that when groups of first graders were given music instruction that emphasized sequential skill development and musical games involving rhythm and pitch, after six months, the students scored better in math than students in groups that received traditional music instruction." (Zhan, 2002).Musical intelligence deals with rhythm and u...
The average brain contains two percent phone numbers, three percent names, five percent knowledge gained in school, and ninety percent song lyrics (source 1). Through music, numerous positive benefits can influence and enhance the effectiveness of a child in and out of school. The most essential benefits that are enhanced, are work ethic, motivation, relaxation, sleep patterns and concentration. A study conducted by the University of California at Irvine in 1993 and again in 1995 was to study the effects of listening to Mozart for ten minutes before taking a test. The results from this study were the students who listened to music before their exams had dramatically improved their scores compared to students who did not participate in heeding to the music
Vaidya, Geetanjali. "Music, Emotion and the Brain." Serendip. N.p., 2004. Web. 7 Jan 2012. .
Utilizing background music has long been studied as a factor to calm the mind and improve performance within the testing environment. Yahaya (2008) proposed the existence of a link between a students’ improvement in reasoning and visualization in the presence of background music. He stated the brain develops from stimulation of their senses by music. It has been suggested that classical music, due to its soothing tones and slow-tempo, results in relaxation and increased ability to focus on a given task. Utilizing music in the testing environment may result in a more accurate reflection of cognitive ability and enhanced performance on testing results (Saunderson, 2013). This study will focus on the potential benefit of classical background music upon a students’ ability to perform multidisciplinary reasoning.
...usic from the Internet. Music can be performed for entertainment, act as a stress relief, and enhance academic behavior.
3. Johansson, R., Holmqvist, K., Mossberg, F., & Lindgren, M. (2012). Eye movements and reading comprehension while listening to preferred and non-preferred study music. Psychology Of Music, 40(3), 339-356. doi:10.1177/0305735610387777
Some people believe that songs with lyrics and melody can distract a student while studying, and hence, the speed of doing work will decrease. However, it must be recognized that there are other types of music, such as classical or instrumental music. These types of music promote in gaining higher concentration than compared to music with lyrics. As Cho suggests, with this state, when the brain is relaxed and calm,work is d...
Cooper, Belle. " How Music Affects and Benefits Your Brain."lifehacker.come. N.p., 11 22 2013. Web. 3
...as a reader might with a book. That being said, music does provide benefits such as entertainment, and relaxation, however, from an academic point of view, music distracts students and influences their grades by limiting their academic potential. The influence of books and music on today’s society is undeniably significant. It plays an immense role in what the values of a society is, and expands the imagination of people of all ages. Such examples are that fantasy novels inspire people to think big while music acts as a way of expressing oneself through lyrics and beats. Other forms of media such as the internet, television, and radio have been effective in spreading books and music of different authors and singers. They will continue to be effective as more and more applications and programs are created everyday for the sole purpose of distributing these materials.