Student Researchers: Jill Carper, Jeff Kukitz, Anessa Lynn, Candace Rishko, & Dan Tobal (BA Students). This paper was based on an undergraduate project as part of a research methods course.

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Shyam Sundar Sethuraman

Introduction

The effects of music have been documented in memory research, leading many researchers to posit the existence of a music-dependent memory. In many environments, music exists in the background, and is generally thought to be soothing and pleasant. However, background music may also have an interfering effect, and it can act as a distractor in people's efforts to memorize and retrieve information. Further, different music genres may have different effects on memory. The present study examines the effects of different music genres on memory.

Hypotheses

Based on prior research findings, it was hypothesized that there would be a significant correlation between music genre and memory.

Method

Sixty participants took part in a between-participants experiment. Participants were asked to memorize a 50-word list, followed by a short survey, and concluded by a 200-word list in which they were asked to circle as many of the original 50 words as they could remember. During memorization of the 50 words, participants were exposed to one of four music genres: pop/rock, classical, country-western, or heavy metal. A control group was exposed to no music during the memorization stage.

Results

The hypothesis was not supported as each group remembered about the same number of words.

Conclusions

Though the hypothesis was not supported, the results suggest that participants' music preference affected the number of incorrect choices on the exam, especially for pop/rock. Since most participants chose pop/rock as their favorite type of music, it could be that those participants in the group that listened to pop/rock were more easily distracted, causing them to make a significantly higher number of incorrect choices.

For more details/information about this study, please contact:

Shyam Sundar Sethuraman
Associate Professor and Director
Media Effects Research Laboratory
College of Communications
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
Ph: (814) 865 2173
E-mail: sss12@psu.edu

Back to Research Projects Page

Media Effects Research Laboratory 306, James Building University Park, PA 16802