The Effects of Background Music on Academic Performance 1

TheEffectsofBackgroundMusicon
AcademicPerformance

Anu Battulga

Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

English 148

Walters

May 10, 2017

 The Effects of Background Music on Academic Performance 2

Introduction

Listening to popular music is considered to be an expected part of growing up in todays

society. It was found that the prevalence of music listening in young adults is higher than
that of watching television shows. In past studies on college students, many responded
that they prefer background music while performing tasks such as studying or exercising.
As the musical culture continues to expand, it is important to understand the obscure
relationship between background music and peoples attention and processing of
information.
In the past decades, there has been increasing research on the psychological effects of
music. Researchers have conducted studies to determine the impact of background music
on task performance. In 1959, Harry Roberts conducted a study introducing music at his
firm. Roberts found that this change improved the workplace morale, and decreased
employee absences and turnovers. Richard Uhrbrock conducted a similar study on his
employees in 1961, and reported that, Feelings of euphoria during periods of music
stimulation have a physiological basis, which is evidenced by changes in blood pressure
that occur in some participants while listening to music. However, the employees level
of productivity wavered due to their music preferences. Many more experiments have
been administered in attempts to discover whether if music increases morale and
productivity in workplace environments.
This report is specifically focused on college students. The purpose of this study is to
determine the effects of music on college students learning abilities, and provide a
comprehensive analysis of if and how listening to music while studying influences
academic results. These results may benefit those who wish to better their academics by
either utilizing music or abandoning it when studying.

Methodology

Materials
For primary research, an online survey was conducted. This survey was shared through
email, social media, and personal contacts. The responses are recorded anonymously,
 The Effects of Background Music on Academic Performance 3

consisting of answers concerning whether if the individual listens to music while

studying,

which year they are, and their cumulative GPA. For extra informational purposes,
responders were also asked whether if they are comfortable studying with no background
music, and how they believe background music affects their studying skills. The results
will be used to establish whether if there is a relationship between music and students
learning abilities.
In addition to the experimental research, several relevant articles were reviewed. As used
as examples earlier, previous studies similar to this were researched, and additional
information was derived from these documents.

Subjects
The targeted group was college students of California. The group is all years, freshmen to
seniors. They were separated into categories of grade and range of GPA. The students
who dont listen to music while studying make up the control group that is compared to
the other groups.

Procedure
Participants will first be asked to take a Google Forum survey. They are informed that
submissions are anonymous, and are asked to complete the questions with honesty. The
survey consisted of these questions:
1. I am a: [freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior]
2. Do you listen to music while studying? [yes, no, or sometimes]
3. Can you study comfortably without background music? [yes, or no]
4. Whats your cumulative GPA? [below 1.5, 1.5-2.0, 2.0-2.5, 2.5-3.0, or above 3.0]
5. How do you think music affects your study skills? [optional short answer]

The results are entered into graphs analyzing the correlation between the GPA range and
whether if they use background music or not. There will be four graphs, one for each
grade.

Limitations
Respondents honesty when taking the survey is crucial in accurate collecting
information, and in establishing a valid connection between the two variables. The
participants must be picked randomly in order to produce a generalization of the group

represented. Therefore, students of all grades must be targeted in order to capture Cal
Polys population.
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Results

Discussions:

Recommendations:

Works Cited: