Does listening to music decrease the effectiveness of study?

Analytical report

Abstract: This experiment explores the relationship between the

effectiveness of listening to music as a study tool by comparing the accuracy of memorization for subjects that first perform memory tests

without music and then again while listening to music. This report examines specifically how music effects memorization, and how it

varies different subjects.

Maya Kelp AP Statistics

7th Period 5/29/13

2012-2013

Listening to music is a common practice while studying, although it is

usually unclear to students whether the practice helps them or hinders them in

their studies. A study by IOS Press found that in a controlled experiment with

college students, those who studied without music generally scored higher on

attentiveness tests than students who studied while listening to music, and the

scores on the attentiveness test varied more within the subjects that listened to

music while taking the test, showing that the practice of listening to music while

completing a task effected some students more than others. However, the

experiment described in this analytical report tests and compares the

performance of memorization tests on students who complete the tasks first

while not listening to music, and then again while attempting to memorize the

designated digits while listening to music. This experiment is meant to examine

the effectiveness of the study habit of listening to music, and if the results found

in original study for attentiveness hold true for memory. The null hypothesis will

be that the difference between the no-music memorization test score and the

listening-to-music memorization test score is zero, and the alternative hypothesis

will be that the difference between the no-music memorization test score and the

listening-to-music memorization test score is greater than zero, which would

indicate that the subjects scored higher not listening to music during the

memorization period of the test. (No: xd=0 and Na: xd>0).

For this experiment, a random sample of 20 seniors and juniors were

selected from the Academy for Global Studies (AGS) at Austin High School. To

create this random sample, a list of all upperclassmen in AGS was acquired and

20 students were selected using a random number generator. While this sample

was relatively convenient to conduct the experiment on, the subjects may not be

the best representatives of the population of students in general, considering that

the subjects are in a program (AGS) that has some differences from Austin High

in general and high school students in general, and the impact of music on the

effectiveness of memorization may differ in these subjects than for students in

general. Another reason the sampling population may not be the best

representative of the population is that only upperclassmen were sampled, and

there may be a difference in the effect of music on memorization for students of

varying ages.

The experiment was conducted by first producing two random strings of

numbers, both 15 digits long. All 15 digits for both strings were constructed using

a random number generator to assure that they were random. Both strings of

numbers used in the data collection can be found in Figure A of the appendix.

The first string of numbers was shown to subjects for thirty seconds with the

instructions to memorize as many of the digits as they could in the correct order.

This part of the experiment was performed without the test subject listening to

music, and with as little background noise as possible. After the thirty seconds of

memorization, the subjects were then asked to write down as many of the digits

they could without losing accuracy. Then, the experiment was performed again,

with the only differences being that there was music playing while the subjects

were attempting to memorize the digits, and the digits were different from before.

The song used for the experiment was “Send Me On My Way” by Rusted Root,

and this song was chosen because most of the students were at least familiar

with the song, which replicates the behavior of students listening to songs

familiar to them while studying, and the fact that the song is a mid-tempo pop-

rock song, which isn’t as polarizing as the effects of classical or rap music. Once

the data was collected, the subject’s scores were recorded and they signed off

that the correct score was recorded, which can be found in Figure B of the

appendix. The data in a table with sample means and sample standard

deviations for each variable, as well as the calculated differences, can be found

in Figure C of the appendix. The physical pages containing the subject’s written

responses can be found in Figure E of the appendix.

Using the data collected, a two-sample hypothesis test for means was

calculated. The data was dependent since each subject completed both of the

tests (without music and then with music), a paired t-test was used in the

calculations. The null hypothesis will be that the difference between the no-music

memorization test score and the listening-to-music memorization test score is

zero, and the alternative hypothesis will be that the difference between the no-

music memorization test score and the listening-to-music memorization test

score is greater than zero, which would indicate that the subjects scored higher

not listening to music during the memorization period of the test. (No: xd=0 and

Na: xd>0). A two-sample hypothesis test for means was the strongest way to

illustrate the effect of music on memorization, because it shows the difference of

scores on the different tests.

A two-sample hypothesis test for means was run, with the µd being the

population mean memory test score difference without music and with music.

The null hypothesis was that the difference between the no-music memorization

test score and the listening-to-music memorization test score is zero, and the

alternative hypothesis was that the difference between the no-music

memorization test score and the listening-to-music memorization test score is

greater than zero. (No: xd=0 and Na: xd>0). As for assumptions, the use of a

simple random sample was stated in the experimental process and was carried

out in the experiment, and samples were dependent, which signified a paired t-

test. Theta was unknown, so t was used. When a normal quantile plot was

constructed from the difference of the scores of the two tests, the NQP was

roughly linear, so an approximately normal distribution could be used. The

calculated t-value was 3.995, and therefore the p-value was 3.875x10-4, since the

degrees of freedom were 19 because of the rule of thumb that degrees of

freedom equals the number of samples minus one. An alpha value of .05 was

chosen because the nature of the experiment didn’t need a .01 value that

medical studies use, and it is also a standard value that appropriately helps in

analyzing the data. Since the p-value was less than alpha, the claim that the true

population mean difference in memory test score without music and with music

was 0 was rejected. Therefore, there was sufficient evidence to suggest that

music has an influence on memorization. Calculations for this hypothesis test can

be found in the appendix in Figure D.

Based on the result of the hypothesis test and the data that can be found

in Figure B of the appendix, it is apparent that for the most part, the practice of

listening to music while attempting to memorize hindered the subject’s memory

test results. The average memorization test score while listening to music was

approximately half the average memorization test score without music, showing

that the practice of listening to music hindered the effectiveness of memorization.

However, four of the subjects did perform better while memorizing the digits while

listening to music, and in those cases, even though they didn’t impact the

outcome of the hypothesis test, did reveal that in all four of the cases, the

subjects at least doubled their score while listening to music. This could reveal

that while for most students the practice of listening to music while studying

hinders their memorization skills, when it does in fact aid students, it greatly

helps them memorize.

This experiment also illustrates the mastery of all four conceptual themes

of statistics. First, the first theme of “exploring data” from the College Board

Advanced Placement website is shown in this experiment by describing the

findings from the hypothesis test and the data, as well as the explanation of

patterns in the data. Next, the second theme of “sampling and experimentation”

was satisfied by planning and conducting an experiment that effectively used an

appropriate sampling procedure and was organized in the undertaking of the

experiment. The third theme of “anticipating patterns” was illustrated by the

creation of an experiment that was carried out by the use of simple random

sampling, as well as the use of probability when calculating the appropriate

hypothesis test for analyzing the data. Finally, the last conceptual theme that this

experiment represents and demonstrates is the theme of “statistical inference”,

which was met by justifying the size of the simple random sample and identifying

and utilizing the appropriate hypothesis rest for analysis of data.

This experiment revealed that in general, there was sufficient evidence to

suggest that music has an influence on memorization. The results also revealed

that for most subjects the practice of listening to music hindered their

performance on memory tests, but in the cases where the subjects performed

higher while listening to music, it helped them at least double their scores. While

these subjects were few in number and didn’t have an impact on the results of

the hypothesis test, it does suggest that it is possible that in cases where

listening to music does help memory, it greatly improves performance.

WORKS CITED

Shih, Yi-Nuo, Rong-Hwa Huang, and Han-sun Chiang. "Correlation between Work Concentration Level and Background Music: A Pilot Study." Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation 33.3 (2009): n. pag. IOS Press. Web. 14 May 2013.

APPENDIX

Figure A

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Note: The top string of numbers was used to test for memorization without

music, and the second string was used to test for memorization with

music. A random number generator produced both strings of digits.

APPENDIX

Figure B (1/2)

APPENDIX

Figure B (2/2)

APPENDIX

Figure C

No Music Score (out of 15) Music Score (out of 15) No music score-music score 4 1 3 12 9 3 1 2 -1 11 4 7 9 8 1 11 2 9 15 11 4 3 7 -4 12 2 10 2 6 -4 3 1 2 12 1 11 9 3 6 13 3 10 6 3 3 4 1 3 15 8 7 15 1 14 2 4 -2 15 6 9 x̄=8.7 x̄=4.15 x̄=4.55 s=5.059 s=3.099 s=5.094

APPENDIX

Figure D

APPENDIX

Figure E

The following pages contain the physical written answers to the memory tests

that the test subjects wrote down.