Investigating the effect of background music on cognitive and skill performance: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Existing studies on the impact of background music in the workplace have reported varying results, from improving production and performance to being known as an annoying factor. Given the lack of evidence of the background music influence on the cognitive factors in the work place in previous studies and the lack of study on the effect of background music on skill performance when gender and personality type is considered, research in this area seems necessary.

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the influence of background music on cognitive and skill performance in the work place with regard to gender and personality type.

METHODS:

This study was conducted with the participation of 52 students (26 males and 26 females) aged between 18–30 years old. Sustained attention, working memory, fine finger and gross manual dexterity skills and personality type were assessed. Participants were randomly tested once when being exposed to classical instrumental music and once again when faced with complete silence

RESULTS:

Playing background music improved students working memory but had no significant effect on sustained attention. Music also improved skill performance.Overall, memory performance and fine finger dexterity were found significantly better in extroverts when compared to introverts during playing background music.

CONCLUSION:

Background music improves working memory and speeds up performance in skill tasks, however the role of personality type in influencing background music on cognitive and skill performance needs further investigation.

Keywords

Cognition motor skills personality music technology cognition

1 Introduction

Music has long been used for entertainment and amusement, and has become more popular nowadays. Due to the availability of portable music devices and the internet, it is now somehow unusual if one is not exposed to music a lot of the time. The advancement of technology in music playing has led many people to use them in their daily activities, in different places such as in cars, stores and offices [1, 2].

Studies have shown that background music can affect cognitive factors such as attention, concentration, and memory [3, 4] Some studies has shown that lack of diversity in jobs that are very monotonous for individuals, leads to a decrease in consciousness and the onset of fatigue, requiring stimulus to maintain a high level of consciousness and resisting fatigue. Many techniques have been used to increase the awareness of operators, one of which is music [5].

However, there is strong evidence from a variety of sources that shows people react differently to music according to their gender and personality type. Therefore, it is important to understand the effects of music on cognitive behavior and processing [6 –8] Another factor that can be influenced by music is skillful performance to such an extent that music is being used for therapeutic and rehabilitation purposes [9].

Although the impact of music on human performance has been studied in different sciences, the consequences of music being played in the workplace are still unknown [10], and a study undertaken by Uhrbrock stated that studies on the impact of music in the workplace had different results. Some studies have reported that music has increased production, increased organizational satisfaction and increased performance. However, other studies have reported the negative impact of music and stated that music is an annoying factor, causing distraction in the workplace [11].

A study was conducted to investigate the positive effect of music on memory. The results showed that the memory performance was better in the presence of music [5]. But a research conducted by Stacy et al. to investigate the impact of music on comprehension in high school senior students showed that music diminishes individual performance [12]. A study by Christopher and Shelton aimed to investigate the impact of music on student performance and its relationship with working memory capacity. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between music being played and student performance and its relationship with working memory capacity [13].

Another study by Huang et al. aimed to investigate the effect of background music on worker concentration, and the results showed that there was no significant relationship between music and focused attention [14]. Lesiuk et al. showed that music significantly improves mood and attention in women with breast cancer [15]. Chou et al. conducted a study to examine the effect of music on Taiwanese students’ focus, which showed that silence was the best way to focus [16]. On the other hand, another study has shown that music can improve people’s attention and this effect is greater in musicians than others [17]. A systematic review study by Rastipishe et al. showed that music improves the performance of the surgical team [18]. However, Yang Jing reported that music plays a role in the cognitive function based on gender and men are more distracted than women. [8].

In 2014, Yu showed that playing music while lifting loads increases the maximum acceptable lifting weight as well as increasing heart rate [19]. A 2009 study by Zeriki et al. aimed to investigate the effect of rhythmic melodic stimulants on the fine finger dexterity of children with cerebral palsy. The results showed that music intervention improved the two-sided fine finger dexterity but did not affect one-sided finger skills [20]. They also showed that music improved coarse-grained skill on the non- dominant side but had no effect on the dominant side [21]. Jamshidzad in 2018 showed that music improves performance both internally and externally, but this improvement was greater in extroverts [22]. On the other hand, Moradi in 2019 showed that background sound improves selective attention only in extroverts [23].

Music is frequently used as a therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation tool. Previous studies on the influence of music on cognitive performance have not addressed consistent results and there are contradictory responses to such intervention. Background music impact on skill performance in workplaces and the role of gender in the influence of music on cognitive and skill performance has also been less studied. The aim of this study was therefore, to investigate the effect of music on cognitive and skill performance considering the role of gender and personality type.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Participants

The present study is a cross-sectional study performed on students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in the age range of 18–30 years old. In this study, volunteers were selected according to the criteria of not consuming any caffeine 8 hours before the test, being right-handed to eliminate the dominant hand effect, having enough rest and sleep the night before the test, enjoying general health, and. for women, not being on their period. Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) was used to measure sleepiness of individuals. This scale was designed in 1990 by Accresited and Gilbert and it has high reliability and validity. This test is a 9-point scale ranging from 1 (extremely alert) to 9 (trying to stay awake) and is a valid test for assessing sleepiness [24]. The candidate must select a maximum score of 3 to enter the study [25]. In this study, participants were asked to rate their satisfaction from the scale of enjoyment of music by announcing the statement “Playing music was gracious while I was working”. A 5-point Likert scale was used for this purpose, and its grading range included strongly agree, agree, no idea, disagree, and strongly disagree [26].

The sample size was estimated with a confidence level of 95%, a power of 90% based on previous studies [13] of 52 people (26 females and 26 males) that were randomly selected from the students.

2.2 Evaluation and intervention tools

2.2.1 N-Back test

This test is a cognitive performance measure related to executive actions and because it includes both information maintenance and manipulation, it is known to be suitable to measure working memory. The overall process is that the sequence of stimuli (often visual) is presented to the candidate step by step. The candidate must check whether the current stimulus matches the stimulus of a step earlier or not. This test is performed with varying values of n and increases the difficulty of the task by increasing the amount of n. Thus, in the n = 1 (1-back) task the last stimulus presented is compared with the previous stimulus, or in the n = 3 (3-back) task the current stimulus will be compared with the previous 3 stimuli [27 –29]. In this study, a 2-back test was used to evaluate working memory. In this study, all participants used their index fingers to press two target and non-target keys to respond to the 120 stimuli that were randomly displayed at a fixed point.

2.2.2 Continuous performance test

The test was designed in 1956 by Roswald et al. and was initially used to measure cerebral lesions. It was introduced as a test in the assessment of children with attention deficit- hyperactivity disorder in the 1990s and is now recognized as the most common laboratory tool in the diagnosis of sustained attention. Its main purpose is to measure sustained attention and its other purpose is to measure impulsivity or impulse control. The candidate should pay attention to a relatively simple set of visual or auditory stimuli for a period of time and when the target stimulus appears, press a key to respond. In this study, a visualized and standardized version of this test was used for the Iranian population which included three variables of response error, deletion response and reaction time. The 30 stimuli (20%) are considered as the target stimulus and the remaining 80% are the non-target stimuli. The duration of each stimulus is 200 milliseconds with 1 second interval in between. The duration of the test, including the training phase, which is carried out in order to make the volunteer understand what to expect before the main stage is performed, is 200 seconds [27, 28].

2.2.3 Purdue pegboard test

The Purdue Pegboard test was designed by Tiffin in 1968. The instrument consists of two cavities on the right and left, each with 25 nails, and two central cavities, with 40 gaskets on the left and 20 collars on the right. In this test, the dominant hand at first and then the non-dominant hand is tested. In the two-hand subtest, both hands are used to place the nails in the holes in both columns simultaneously. The placement and assembly of nails, washers, and collars is performed alternately with both hands. The allocated time for assembly in one-hand and two-sided subtests is 30 s and 60 s, respectively. Scores of each test are measured by the number of nails for the one-hand subtests or the pair of nails for the two-hand subtest and the number of components (nails, washers, collars) in assembly. The fifth subscale contains the sum of dominant, non-dominant, and two-hand scores [30, 31].

2.2.4 Two-arm coordination test

This test is designed to evaluate the ability of two-hand coordination, and the evaluation is calculated based on the time taken and the number of errors. Participants are asked to follow a pattern (in the form of a star) using both levers on the clockwise direction on the page, and the time and number of errors are recorded by a counter that is connected to the device [22 , 33].

2.2.5 Eysenck personality type questionnaire

The questionnaire has 90 questions and examines the personality dimensions (introversion-extroversion) of individuals. There are two options (yes and no) for each question. This questionnaire was developed as an instrument for measuring individual differences [34]. The validity and reliability of this questionnaire has been reported in Iranian society by Kaviani et al. [35].

2.2.6 Music

A piece of classic instrumental music by Richard Clayderman was used as an intervention and was played through headphones with equal loudness to all participants in the intervention phase.

2.3 Ethical issues

The potential benefits and harms of the project were explained to all participants in this study and all of them were fully aware of the goals of the project. The participants’ informed consent were also obtained. They could leave the study at any time without any consequences. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (IR.SUMS.REC.1398.459).

2.4 Study method

On the day of the experiment, participants were asked to fill in the demographic and Eysenck personality type questionnaires and the alertness state was scaled using Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) measurement tool.

The experiment consisted of two sections of with and without music, each of which was completely random. After selecting this section, participants were randomly assigned to perform cognitive and skills tests. After the tests, participants were given a rest equal to the duration of the first part of the experiment (one to one ratio) and after that, they participated in the second part of the study until exhaustion.

The order of cognitive and skill tests in the second part was similar to the first part. In the intervention section, classical instrumental music was listened to through the headset, being played to each individual as the music test began. Cognitive tests were performed through the respective software, so each participant had to perform a short test phase prepared by the software itself to learn the respective technique at the beginning of each test. In the skill tests to prevent the acquisition of skills, the test phase was not done. At the end of the music phase, participants rated how much they enjoyed the music using the Likert scale.

2.5 Data analysis

The frequency and percentage of frequency, and mean and standard deviation were reported for qualitative and quantitative variables, respectively. The data normality was checked by employing sample K-S test. A paired t-test and non-parametric Wilcoxon test were accordingly employed in each of the N-Back, CPT, Purdue Pegboard skill indicators and two arm coordination test to compare before and after music playback. Independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare groups’ differences for gender and personality type.

3 Results

The age of participants ranged from 19 to 30 years old, 73.1 of them studying at BSc level. Fifty participants (86.1%) strongly agreed or agreed that the music was enjoyable for them in the Likert scale. A minority (13.5%) of the participants were familiar with the music played. More details of demographic and personal characteristics of participants have been included in Table 1.

Table 1
Demographic and personal characteristics of participants (N = 52)

Age (Years) M (SD) Min-max 22.46±3.21 19–30

Education (%) BSc student 73.1

MSc student 23.1

PhD student 3.8

Educational background in music (%) yes 17.3

no 82.7

Habit of listening to music (%) Yes 63.5

No 36.5

Personality (%) Introverted 17.3

Extraverted 82.73

Age (Years)	M (SD) Min-max	22.46±3.21 19–30
Education (%)	BSc student	73.1
	MSc student	23.1
	PhD student	3.8
Educational background in music (%)	yes	17.3
	no	82.7
Habit of listening to music (%)	Yes	63.5
	No	36.5
Personality (%)	Introverted	17.3
	Extraverted	82.73

N-Back test results indicated an increased number of correct responses, a shorter mean response time, and a decreased total number of incorrect and non-responsive responses (P value≤0.05) when listening to music but music showed no effect on CPT cognitive test results. Music also significantly improved all the skill parameters. Details of N-Back, CPT, and two-handed skill tests with and without music have been presented in Table 2.

Table 2

Comparison of the results of cognitive indices (N-Back, CPT) and skill indices (Purdue Pegboard and Two-Arm Coordination Test) with and without music intervention (n = 52)

Test	Variable	Mean ± SD		P value
		Without music	With music
N-Back	Wrong answers (N) + unanswered (N)	33.59±21.91	29.5±21.11	0.037 ^* ^‡
	Correct answers (N)	86.40±21.91	90.50±21.11	0.037 ^* ^‡
	Response time (ms)	717.67±183.83	666.67±177.03	0.016 ^* ^‡
	Standard deviation of response time (ms)	258.65±92.24	239.55±89.17	0.116^‡
CPT	Commissions error (N)	0.42±0.11	0.28±0.06	0.266^‡
	Omission error (N)	0.19±0.19	0.96±0.05	0.684^†
	Correct answers (N)	147.63±1.91	147.01±2.59	0.850^‡
	Response time (ms)	438.63±5.83	443.96±5.68	0.139^‡
Purdue Pegboard	Pegs in dominant hand (N)	16.50±1.74	17.75±1.84	≤0.001 ^* ^‡
	Pegs in non-dominant hand (N)	14.51±2.39	15.57±2.46	≤0.001^‡
	Pegs in both hands (N)	11.05±1.70	12.03±1.78	≤0.001 ^* ^‡
	Pegs in dominant + non-dominant + two hands (N)	42.07±4.75	45.36±5.31	≤0.001 ^* ^‡
	Collars (N)	6.67±1.55	7.25±1.54	≤0.001 ^* ^‡
	Pegs (N)	7.25±1.50	7.63±1.44	0.004 ^* ^‡
	Washers (N)	7.00±1.58	7.44±1.52	0.001^* ^‡
Two Arm Coordination Test	Time (s)	46.49±16.38	40.21±11.69	0.001 ^* ^‡
	Errors (N)	1.79±0.17	0.76±0.49	0.002 ^* ^‡

*p<0.05 statistically significant difference. ‡paired t-test. †Wilcoxon test [Median (IQR): Without music: 0(0-1), With music: 0(0-1)].

Women performed better than men in the N-Back cognitive test with music playback. However, no significant difference was observed between male and female performance when music was played in the CPT test. The mean difference in nails in the dominant, non- dominant, and two hands in the Purdue Pegboard test increased in males and the mean difference in number of errors in the two-arm coordination test improved significantly after music playback in females. Table 3 depicts the results when evaluating the role of gender in influencing music on skill and cognitive performance in detail.

Table 3

Influence of gender on cognitive indices (N-Back, CPT) and Skill indices (Purdue Pegboard and Two-Arms Coordination Test) in conditions with and without music intervention (n = 52)

Test		Gender	Mean ± SD Mean difference (between music and without music conditions)	P value
N-Back	Correct answers (N)	Male	1.15±3.06	≤0.001 ^* ^‡
		Female	7.04±0.04
	Wrong answers (N) + unanswered (N)	Male	1.16±3.06	≤0.001 ^* ^‡
		Female	–7.04±0.04
CPT	Correct answers (N)	Male	5.07±26.32	0.848^‡
		Female	3.84±19.46
	Commissions error (N)	Male	0.16±0.36	0.686^†
		Female	0.12±0.35
Purdue Pegboard	Number of pegs in dominant + non-dominant + two hands	Male	3.46±0.77	0.042^*^‡
		Female	3.12±0.32
Two Arm Coordination Test	Time (s)	Male	6.1±6.46	0.800^‡
		Female	6.47±3.68
	Errors (N)	Male	1.36±1.68	0.009^*^‡
		Female	0.43±0.52

*p<0.05 statistically significant difference. ‡Independent t test. †Mann-Whitney U test [Median (IQR): Without music: 0(0-1), With music: 0(0-1)].

The N-Back Cognitive Test showed a better performance in participants with an extrovert type of personality while listening to music, whereas music play back did not make a significant difference in CPT test between introverts and extroverts. The mean difference in the dominant, non-dominant, and two hands tests increased significantly after music was played in extroverted groups in the Purdue Pegboard test. Whereas music play back did not make a significant difference in two arm coordination test between introverts and extroverts. More details of the results of the personality type assessment on the influence of music on skill and cognitive performance have been presented in Table 4.

Table 4

Influence of personality type on cognitive indices (N-Back, CPT) and skill indices (Purdue Pegboard and Two-Arms Coordination Test) with and without music (n = 52)

Test	Personality	Mean ± SD		P value
		Mean difference (between music and without music conditions)
N-Back	Correct answers (N)	Introverted	0.44±5.49	≤0.001^*^‡
		Extraverted	4.21±1.04
	Wrong answer	Introverted	0.44±6.62	≤0.001^*^‡
	(N) + unanswered (N)	Extraverted	5.04±1.12
CPT	Correct answers (N)	Introverted	0.22±0.18	0.488^‡
		Extraverted	0.79±5.33
	Commissions error (N)	Introverted	0.22±0.08	0.097^†
		Extraverted	0.11±0.39
Purdue Pegboard	Pegs in dominant + non-dominant + two hands (N)	Introverted	2.22±1.33	≤0.001^*^‡
		Extraverted	3.51±0.51
Two Arm Coordination Test	Time (s)	Introverted	–3.78±–5.44	0.084^‡
		Extraverted	–6.81±–4.48
	Errors (N)	Introverted	–0.55±–1.03	0.372^‡
		Extraverted	–0.89±–1.03

*p<0.05 statistically significant difference. ‡Independent t test. †Mann-Whitney U test [Median (IQR): Without music: 0(0-1), With music: 0(0-1)].

4 Discussion

Comparison of the results of the N-Back test with and without background music showed that music significantly improved the working memory. As the music played, we saw an increase in the number of correct answers and a decrease in the response time and total number of incorrect (or non-responded) responses. The results of the present study therefore support the assumption that listening to music improves participants’ working memory while working. The results of this part of the study are in line with the results of the Bugter study. Bugter et al. conducted a study to investigate the effect of music genre on memory and found that silence had no effect on performance and classical music improved performance over rap [6]. Ferreri’s study also showed that people’s memory was better in the presence of music. Music may have helped improve memory by affecting emotions and brain processes [36], but a study by Christopher and Shelton found no significant relationship between working memory and music being played [13]. This may be because the effect of music on working memory is not directly measured, and only the performance of reading comprehension and mathematical calculations with music intervention is examined, and then, based on the results of music intervention, the relationship between performance and working memory is measured.

Comparison of CPT test results with and without music showed that music had no significant effect on sustained attention. In fact, in this study, although the music reduced the number of incorrect responses, it increased the number of unanswered ones and the reaction time. But none of these were statistically significant. The results of this part of the study show that music cannot help improve sustained attention. The findings of this section of the study are not in line with the study of Wolfe et al. In a study, Wolfe measured the influence of music on 76 children’s sustained attention and found that music improved sustained attention [37]. Perhaps the reason that results of the present study are not consistent with this study was the differentiation of the participants in the group and the selection of a particular type of music that was tailored to the age group of the children. Another study by Lesiuk et al. found that music improves attention in women with breast cancer. Music could improve their attention by affecting their mood through reducing fatigue, depression and stress [15]. Another study investigated the effect of background music on the attention of workers with schizophrenia, indicating that music can improve their attention [38]. However, a study by Huang in 2009 aimed to examine the effect of background music on worker’s focus showed no significant relationship between music and sustained attention. The results of our study are in line with this study. One of the reasons may be the subject’s musical taste. Listening to one’s favorite kind of music or very unpleasant music could both draw attention to the music and reduces their focus on work [14].

The results of this study showed that when music is played it had a positive effect on dominant, non-dominant, two-handed and assembly performance, so that the number of Purdue Pegboard board placements and fine finger dexterity significantly increased after listening to music. In the study of Ziraki et al., the effect of melodic rhythmic stimuli on the fine finger dexterity of children with cerebral palsy was assessed and it was found that music improves bilateral finger skill [21]. A study by Martins et al. in 2018 examined the effect of music on the motor ability of 74 children and the results showed that music improved children’s finger skills [39]. Studies have shown that music affects the motor functions of individuals by affecting motor nerves [40].

Comparison of the results of two-arm coordination test with and without music showed that music improved the results in this skill test, so that time of this test and the number of errors were significantly reduced when music was being played. The results of this study are in line with those of Jamshidzad et al, in which results showed that background music significantly reduced test time and improved performance [22]. In another study by Zeraki et al., they examined the effect of traditional Iranian music on the gross manual dexterity of children with cerebral palsy, and the results showed that music improved gross manual dexterity on the non-dominant side but had no effect on the dominant side. The results of the present study are consistent with only part of this study. In the Zirzki study Ford C states that music stimulates physical responses and thereby improves motor activity [21].

Comparison of the results of this study by gender showed that the results of N-Back test after music was played showed that females were more influenced by music so that the results of this test (in the mean difference of correct answers and the total number of incorrect and unanswered answers) in women were significantly more than men with music intervention. Kellaris also stated in his study that music had a greater effect on women’s memory than men’s’ because it had a greater effect on women’s mood than men [41]. In another study, playing music improved reading comprehension in women compared to men [42]. However, Gathercole’s study showed no difference between working memory of males and females; perhaps due to different age group ranged between 4 to 15 years old [43].

In the CPT cognitive test, gender did not play a significant role in influencing music performance. In the Purdue Pegboard test, men performed significantly better with music playing. Although the number of errors in women decreased in the Two-Arm Coordination skill test, music had no significant effect when woman compared with men. The studies by Josune Rodríguez-Negro and Nobre showed that males are more agile than females in motor work [44, 45].

Comparison of the results of N-Back test showed that memory was more influenced by music in extroverted than introverted individuals, and extraverted individuals were more likely to respond correctly than introverts after the playing of music. Comparison of the results of the Purdue board test showed that extroverted group had significantly improved performance after music was played. There was no significant difference in the Two Arms Coordination test between the extraversion and introversion performance. The results of this part of the present study are in line with Jamshidzad et al.’s study. Their study also showed that music improves performance in both introverted and extroverted groups, but this improvement was greater in extroverts [22] because, according to Eysenck’s theory, arousal in extroverts is greater than introverts [46].

A study by Aroyewun et al. also showed that extroverted individuals could better communicate with music [47]. The cognitive function has been reported to be better in the presence of music in extroverted than introverted individuals by measuring reaction test [48]. Music is further documented to influence extroverted autistic subjects when compared to introverted people with autism [49] All above-mentioned studies are in support of Eysenck’s theory so far. However, new emerging evidence on the function of deeper brain cortices and beta waves in Electroencephalography (EEG) studies seems to be against that theory. Extroverted subjects may behave differently from what it was thought to be until now. Like other studies reporting contradictory results, some results of the present study confirm the Eysenck theory and some do not support it, necessitating further elaboration on the effect of personality type on cognition when listening to music [50].

One of the limitations of this study is that classical music is broadcasted as the intervention regardless of one’s musical taste. The volume was also kept unchanged for all participants, while some tended to increase or decrease the volume.

5 Conclusions

The present study showed that music can have a positive effect on students’ memory. In general, it can be said that programs that require memory or occupations that require active working memory should be performed simultaneously with music playback in order to improve their cognitive performance. Conclusions concerning the influence of background music on attention requires further research. In this study, music improves skill performance, and playing music in work environments where the task of the person is related to manual skill seems desirable. But the impact of music on ergonomic motor and skill abilities and the role of gender and personality type on the effect of music has not been investigated enough and needs further research

Footnotes

Acknowledgment

This article was extracted from a thesis written by Ms Shirin Taheri, a M.Sc. student of Ergonomics, and was financially supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences grant no. 97-01-04-19028. The authors wish to thank all students who participated in this study.

Conflict of interest

None to report.

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