Performance on Exams While

Listening to Preferred or Non-

preferred Music
Jackie Day, Emma Cooke, Mackenzie
Petersen
 Background Information

★ Music Activates Different Parts of the Brain

★ Research suggests that test anxiety may be increased when harsh
music is played
○ As a result of this, test performance can be reduced (Lilley,
Oberle & Thompson, 2014).
★ Those who listened to calm music had lower systolic blood
pressure, lower heart rate and higher test scores (Lilley, Oberle &
Thompson, 2014).
Method
★ 44 Participants
★ Pre-test Survey
○ Picked two most preferred genres of music
★ Split into 3 different groups:
○ Preferred music
○ Non-preferred music
○ No music
★ 50 question test
○ Example: [Blank] is to trail as grain is to grail
■ A) train
■ B) path
■ C) wheat
■ D) holy
Results

★ No Significant Difference
○ ANOVA = F(2, 41) = 1.79, p = .18
★ Means
○ Overall = M=25.11, SD=8.97
○ Preferred music = M=28.79, SD=8.27
○ Non-preferred music = M=23.53, SD=5.04
○ No music = M=23.27, SD=11.77
Discussion

★ No significant difference between groups suggests that genre/preference may not

significantly affect academic performance
★ However, listening to (background) music in general, specifically classical music
without lyrics, while studying or testing may be beneficial
★ Individual study habits can affect it
○ Study with or without music