Listening session synonym1/1/2024 ![]() Conversely, below a certain level of task complexity the arousal and mood hypothesis may account for some beneficial effects of background music on task performance. When task complexity surpasses some critical threshold, then performance is impaired. In summary, with respect to the background music effect there are conflicting results as well as conflicting theoretical approaches that may, in principle, provide a unified account of the effect (or lack of it) on the basis of task complexity. In particular, detrimental effects related to background music seem to be modulated by task complexity: the more complex and demanding the task, the stronger is the detrimental effect of music (Furnham and Bradley, 1997 Furnham and Allass, 1999). These negative findings could be explained by the “cognitive-capacity hypothesis” (Kahneman, 1973), positing that a limited pool of resources is available for cognitive processing at any given moment (Baddeley, 2003), thus background music can disrupt cognitive tasks when there is a potential for interference (e.g., Polzella and Schoeling, 2004) due to an overtax of resources (Norman and Bobrow, 1975). ![]() In particular, several studies investigating the Mozart effect reported benefits primarily using tasks tapping processing speed and visuo-spatial abilities but only when the music had a fast tempo and a major mode (e.g., Thompson et al., 2001 Husain et al., 2002 Schellenberg et al., 2007).Ĭonversely, disturbing and interfering effects of background music have been reported for multimedia learning (Moreno and Mayer, 2000), surgeons learning of new procedures (Miskovic et al., 2008), mathematics (Bloor, 2009), and reading (Madsen, 1987). Moreover, the effects of these different levels of mood and arousal seem to vary depending on the cognitive abilities considered. In particular, as reported in the context of the Mozart effect, fast tempo and major mode music tend to induce a positive/happy mood and higher arousal levels, whereas slow tempo and minor mode music induce a more negative/sad mood and lower arousal levels (e.g., Husain et al., 2002 Hunter and Schellenberg, 2010). minus) of the music itself, respectively (Gabrielsson and Lindström, 2010). ![]() The impact of music on arousal and on mood of listeners seems to be determined by the tempo (fast vs. In particular, listening to music affects arousal (degree of physiological activation), mood (long lasting emotions), and listener’s enjoyment, which in turn influence cognitive performance (Hallam et al., 2002). However, there is also evidence of reduced performance when background music is present (see Kämpfe et al., 2010 for a review).Īccording to the “arousal and mood hypothesis” (Thompson et al., 2001), the positive effect of music on human behavior is considered to be a consequence of the impact of music on mood and arousal. Some studies on the effect of background music on performance in cognitive tasks have shown improvements in episodic memory (Ferreri et al., 2013), IQ scores (Cockerton et al., 1997), verbal and visual processing speed (Angel et al., 2010), arithmetic skill (Hallam and Price, 1998), reading (Oliver, 1997), and second languages learning (Kang and Williamson, 2013). ![]() The present study primarily focused on the background music effect. Despite the above difference, there is consensus on these effects to operate on common mechanisms (Schellenberg and Weiss, 2013). This background music effect differs from the so-called Mozart effect (Rauscher et al., 1993), which refers to the changes in cognitive abilities following listening to music. Background music refers to any music that is played while the listener’s primary attention is focused on another task or activity (Radocy and Boyle, 1988).
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