Is it Beneficial to Listen to Music
while Studying?
EDP 101-B Final Project
Group F:
Will Quay
Casey Wagner
Amanda Uvino
Shaqueta Jackson
Judd Kohn
Courtney Wisenor
Introduction
“By better understanding what music is and where it comes from, we may be able
to better understand our motives, fears, desires, memories, and even communication in
the broadest sense. Is music listening more like eating when you're hungry and thus
satisfying an urge? Why do people seem to get stuck in their musical tastes as they grow
older and cease experimenting with new music? This is the story of how brains and music
co-evolved - what music can teach us about the brain, what the brain can teach us about
music, and what both can teach us about ourselves.” –Daniel Levitin, This is Your Brain
on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (Introduction)
When our EDP 101 group first began brainstorming ideas for this project, we all
wanted to better understand music and studying. Since we were not satisfied with the
sample topics, we decided to come up with our own. After throwing around a few ideas,
our group came to the conclusion that most of us, as students, choose to study with at
least some type of music playing in the background. From this thought, we then took it a
step further to raise the question of whether or not studying with music is helpful to
retaining knowledge, and why? As a group we decided that each of us would branch off
from this topic in search of information, studies, or surveys that could provide answers
regarding the question: “How does music affect one’s study habits?”
Can music help your studying?
It is a long-time thrown around idea that studying with music can enhance the
amount of knowledge you acquire. Most of us have been told that classical music will
enhance our studying efforts, while others say that music in general is beneficial. How
can we be certain that this is the case? Furthermore, how do we know what type of music
we should be studying with? In this paper, our group will attempt to supply answers to
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these questions. We will cover topics ranging from classical music and studying, listening
to music while studying math versus reading, a biological focus on music, and a survey
conducted from Miami students to break down studying preferences with music.
Well-developed spatial intelligence is the ability to perceive the visual world
accurately, to form mental images of physical objects, and to recognize variations of
objects. Spatial reasoning abilities are crucial for such higher brain functions as music
and complex mathematics. According to research presented at the 102nd Annual
Convention of the American Psychological Association, simply listening to music can
enhance spatial reasoning performance. Dr. Rauscher and Dr. Shaw conducted an
experiment on college students, which produced results confirming that after listening to
ten minutes of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K 448, increased spatial IQ scores were found.
This evidence produced what has now come to be called, “The Mozart Effect.”
The Mozart Effect is the result of an experiment done by Rauscher, Shaw, and
Katherine Ky. Their results were published in the article, "Scientific Correspondence," in
the October 14, 1993 issue of Nature. In a three-column report, these researchers
summarized the findings of an experiment conducted upon thirty-six University of
California Irvine students. The students were put into three different test groups subjected
to ten minutes of various listening environments. One group spent the ten minutes
listening to Mozart’s Sonata in D major for Two Pianos, K488, another group listened to
a relaxation tape, and the final group simply sat in silence. The students were then given a
paper folding and cutting test. (A piece of paper was folded over several times and then
cut. The students had to mentally unfold it and choose the right shape from five
examples.) The students who listened to the Mozart sonata showed an 8-9 point increase
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in their IQ scores, as compared to when they took the test after either a period of silence
or listening to the relaxation tape. The bump in IQ was temporary, not lasting beyond
about ten to fifteen minutes. Since then, many attempts have been made to reproduce the
results of this particular experiment, but none with such luck. Although there is a lot of
research out there to say that listening to music while studying is beneficial to retaining
knowledge, there isn’t much support to back up this claim. A quote found in the article
“The Mozart Effect” by Michael Linton, posted on FirstThings.com: The Journal of
Religion, Culture, and Public Life summarized the effects of music well.
“Music is not a drug that incapacitates the listener and produces a predictable result.
Particular kinds of music may express things that appeal to the listener, and the listener
may select a particular kind of music because he finds that it resonates with his own-premusical-emotional condition, but the music itself can never cause the listener to act.
Action is a function always of the will, and while music may prod, and it may suggest, it
cannot force.”
Studying while multi-tasking
One common reason students have for explaining why they enjoy listening to
music while they study is because they believe music helps them concentrate. Many
students feel that music helps them get "on a roll”, or helps make studying feel less
tedious. An article in the Washington Post from September 5th 2006 discusses this
subject.
The article cites a study performed by researchers at UCLA. The researchers
found that “60% of students aged 7th through 12th grades listen to music, email, or use
instant messaging programs while they study.” Furthermore, they found that doing such
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things might make students learn less, instead of more. This particular study showed that
when students listen to music, they tend to use the wrong part of their brain to store
information. This study focused on two specific parts of the brain that are used to store
information: the hippocampus and the striatum. Information stored in the hippocampus
allows a person to think more creatively, or change the context from which the
information was originally learned. Whereas when information is stored in the striatum
limits the contexts in which the information can be applied. The striatum prevents
information from being used in new situations.
This is important to note, especially for college students. Many classes in college
have exams that require students to think critically. Exams often require students to adapt
what they have learned to new situations, or apply their knowledge to real world
situations. This can be much easier for the student if the information is stored in the
hippocampus. An expert in this article said, “The bottom line is that active distractions
involved in multi-tasking are going to reduce one's ability to learn…even if standard
performance measures, like grades, show otherwise.” Another expert believes that
learning while listening to music results in a superficial understanding of what was
studied. David E. Meyer, from the University of Michigan, said in this article that he
believes: “studying with distractions limits a student’s ability to remember things longterm.” He also compared studying with music to eating dessert instead of a proper meal,
in that a person is foregoing nutrition for enjoyment. On the contrary, some people
believe that if music makes studying more enjoyable, it is acceptable. Since people’s
brains work differently, it may be possible for individuals to learn with distractions. As
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long as the student knows what they are capable of, researchers believe that studying with
music is ok if students keep the volume on the low side.
Listening to music while studying math as opposed to reading
At the library, at home, or even at the local coffee shop, it is inevitable that one
will find avid studiers focused and engaged in their work while listening to music. What
are these people listening to? How are they studying while listening to music? What
genre do people listen to while studying? Can it get distracting? These are a few
examples of the endless questions that are pondered about listening to music while
studying. No matter what the studying entails, either practicing calculus problems or
reading a novel for history class, music seems to be an integral part of the studying
process for a wide variety of individuals.
Some individuals find that they cannot study with music if their lives depended on
it. Some could not imagine studying without music, however, finding the boundary
between the two can be very difficult, but worth the effort. For many, listening to music
while studying math, accounting, or other numerical based subjects, go hand in hand.
However, the point where this line is drawn occurs when listening to music begins to
interfere or even harm studying certain material, such as retention and comprehension of
material. Listening to music while you read can be very distracting due to the volume or
the lyrics. Music can become a procrastination aid if they begin to listen to the music
rather than study. Much of this distinction is based solely on the individual. By listening
to instrumental music (no words) while reading, the likelihood of retention is much
higher than if the music contains lyrics.
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The difference between listening to music during numerical-based studying and
conceptual-based studying seems irrelevant, but much of it depends on the preference of
the individual. Many students use music as a background noise to distract their minds
from external noises such as traffic, conversations, or the television. According Dr.
Levitin in an article from the New York Times, published on December 31, 2006: “music
triggers the reward centers in our brains.” He discusses how this triggers a positive
reinforcement after hearing a song, which brings retention while listening to that
particular song. People should all try to listen to instrumental music to discover how it
can improve your studying efficiency. Many individuals find an extreme difficulty while
listening to music and reading, as opposed to listening to music while studying math-type
subjects. This can be due to many factors including volume level, music type, and lyrical
influence. Even though a difficulty for many is prevalent for listening to music while
studying, it is worth the time and effort to teach oneself to do so because of the potential
benefits.
Biological Perspective on Listening to Music
Some people prefer absolute silence, while others prefer loud and upbeat music to
accompany them in studying. But the true question is: Can a person listen to music and
study at the same time? Some believe that it depends on the person who is studying,
while others, such as Daniel Levitin, believe that it depends on the genre of music that is
being listened to.
Although there isn’t a direct answer to this question, several
speculations exist. Discovering an answer to this question may be in the future, yet there
must be steps taken in finding evidence that prove differently of the various perspectives.
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We must first look at the functioning of the brain. Usually a person’s purpose of
studying is to memorize learned information for later assessment. The brain areas that
get activated when you are trying to memorize something depend on what it is you're
trying to remember. The Frontal Lobes, the largest lobes of the cortex, are involved in
motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory of all kinds, language, initiation,
judgment, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior. (Davis & Palladino, 2007)
On the contrary, when you listen to music, a part of the brain called the Temporal
Lobe becomes very active. The Temporal Lobe is involved in auditory processing and is
home to the primary auditory cortex. The Temporal Lobe is also involved in semantics,
both in speech and vision. (Davis & Palladino, 2007) Different parts of the temporal lobe
seem to be related to different aspects of music. For instance, the temporal cortex on the
right side seems to process simple pitch and melody; on the left it processes chords and
harmonies. The temporal lobe contains the hippocampus, which plays a vital role in
processing, storing, and recalling information.
Looking at both the Frontal and Temporal Lobes, we can see they have something
in common: memory. How can both parts of the brain function at the same time without
information being decoded wrong, or stored incorrectly into the memory? According to a
psychologist from UCLA, “Multi-tasking and learning do not mix. One has to pay full
attention for learning to be most affective.” This means that if music is playing as you
study and try to learn, the information becomes more specialized, which may cause
difficulties in encoding and retrieval of the information for later use.
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Survey Results
In order to asses the relationship between studying and music, an anonymous
survey was taken at Miami University. The survey focused on studying while listening to
music. A random sample was used to take this survey. This was important so that the
results can apply to everyone at Miami and similar colleges with the same type of student
body. The survey was a paper survey in which students were required to circle either yes
or no, or write a short answer to some questions. It was important to leave some of the
questions open so that the suggested answers would not sway or influence the person. In
eliminating influences, a student’s true answer could be obtained.
From the people surveyed, a little more than half said that they listened to music
while they studied. Of the students that said they did not listen to music while they
studied, about eighty-two percent said it was because they could not concentrate.
Concerning the people that responded yes to these questions, a few more questions were
asked. Interestingly, among this half, only seven percent said that they have to study
while listening to music, while the rest said that music was not a necessity while
studying. Eighty-six percent of these students said that they listen to soft music while
they study. Soft music is general, including the genres of country, soft rock, classical
rock, and easy listening. The remaining 14 percent said that they listen to other types of
music including numerous genres ranging from classical to rap. Amongst the students
who do listen to music, fifty-seven percent of them said that they would study any
subject, twenty-nine percent said they would only study sciences, and fourteen percent
said they listen to music while they write papers. The students that listen to music while
they study provided two interesting reasons as to why they do. One, which seventy-one
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percent agree with, was that they get bored with what they are doing and the music
entertains them. The remaining twenty-nine percent said that they listen to music
because it relaxes them.
All of the students answered three remaining questions on the survey. One
question asked the students what music they thought was the best to study to: forty-four
percent of them said classical, forty-eight percent of them said soft music as defined
above, and the remaining eight percent had varying music genres. The survey reported
that twenty-eight percent of the people thought that when they listened to music, they
retained information better, but the remaining disagreed. To touch on a slightly different
light, sixty percent of the students surveyed said that they multitasked while studying.
Multitasking was defined as eating, text messaging, using the internet for non studying
purposes, etc. This survey was important because while studies project many numbers
that concern people, these numbers specifically define Miami University students.
Listen while writing papers
Listen and study
all subjects
Listen while
studying sciences
Don’t
listen to
music
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Extended Results:
Don’t listen to music-11 people
Of these 9 don’t listen because they can not concentrate
Listen to music-14 people
12 listen to soft music (including soft rock, country, and easy listening)
2 listen to other
1 can not study with out listening to music
Subjects studied: 6 study all, 4 study science, 2 write papers
10 say they listen because they get bored and it entertains them
4 say they listen to it because it makes them more relaxed
Best music thought to study to: 11 classical, 12 soft music, 2 other
Do you think you retain more information: 7 yes, 18 no
Multitask: 10 no, 15 yes
Conclusion
Through writing this paper, we have all agreed that understanding your brain and
its external factors is imperative. As many people listen to verbal music and struggle to
store information or focus, one must find out why. By understanding the biological
effects of music, music in different circumstances, and music mixed with different
content, we have concluded that the positive effects of music depend greatly on the genre
of music and the content that you are attempting to study. For example, by looking at the
Mozart Effect, classical music can have a positive effect on your studying efficiency.
However, listening to verbal music, such as rap or hardcore rock, can hurt one’s memory
storage and focus. Through this research and study on Miami’s students, where our
sample has 56% listening to music while studying, we learned that before we do
something, we must first learn how it affects us. Because of this, many studying habits
are lowering the brain’s potential.
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“The point for me isn’t to develop a map of the brain, but to understand how it works,
how the different regions coordinate their activity together, how the simple firing of
neurons and shuttling around of neurotransmitters leads to thoughts, laughter, feelings of
profound joy and sadness, and how all of these, in turn, can lead us to create lasting,
meaningful works of art.” –Daniel Levitin, This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a
Human Obsession
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References
Davis, S.F. & Palladino, J.J. (2007). Psychology (5th Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
iPods and Learning: Not Always a Good Mix. (2006). T+D, Retrieved Wednesday, April
18, 2007 from the Academic Search Premier database.
Jeffrey , Ghassemi (2006, September 5). I said, 'not while you study!'. Washington Post,
p. Health.
Levitin, D.J. (2006). This is your brain on music: The science of a human obsession. New
York, NY: Dutton.
Linton, M (1999, March). The Mozart Effect. Retrieved April 16, 2007, from First
Things: The Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life Web site:
http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=3116
New York Times (2006,December 31). Music of the hemispheres. Retrieved April 19,
2007, from New York Times Web site:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/arts/music/31thom.html?pagewanted
=2&ei=5090&en=e04c9b5f921b7b24&ex=1325221200%B6ner=rssuserla
nd
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