Music can improve one's cognitive performance, according to a new study by Manuel Gonzalez of Baruch College and John Aiello of Rutgers University.
Their study "More Than Meets the Ear: Investigating How Music Affects Cognitive Task Performance" suggests that one's decision to turn music on or off while studying depends on a person's personality.
Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, the study made the participants complete the Boredom Proneness Scale, a personality test that can determine need for external stimulation.
They performed an easy cognitive task, which is locating the letter A in lists of words, and a more difficult one, which is to remember word pairs. Half of the participants completed the difficult task first to control for practice and fatigue.
Both tasks were accomplished under one of three sound conditions: a. no music; b. simple music; or c. complex music." The music used was instrumental. Meanwhile, the music complexity was formed by varying the number of instruments involved in the piece. Piano, strings and synthesizer made up the simple music. Drums and bass were added to simple music to form complex music.
Recommendations
Findings show substantial individual differences in the effect of music on cognitive function. Researchers recommend the use of music in the classroom, study hall, or work environment.
However, the study notes that students who get bored easily must be conscious of adding music to the mix, especially complex music because it may distract them and consume cognitive resources that are important in completing tasks.
Based on the study, students must consider both their musical choices and the nature of their task before deciding to turn on the music.
Moreover, increases in the complexity of a cognitive task can also reduce the benefit of music.
"We thus hope that our research will serve as a starting point for a more systematic
investigation of music. In doing so, we hope to better understand the psychological effects of music," the researchers wrote in their paper.
