Date of Award
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chairperson
Geeta Shivde, Ph.D.
Committee Member
V. K. Kumar, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Julian Azorlosa, Ph.D.
Abstract
Previous research studying the effects of background music on cognition have been inconsistent in how the specific music stimuli were chosen, as well as the specific cognitive tasks used. In the present study, a survey of undergraduates demonstrated that research in this area should use music stimuli and cognitive tasks that are more ecologically valid. An experiment informed by the survey results shows few differences in students’ performance on executive function and abstract reasoning tasks when listening to self-selected music, randomly selected music or silence. The results of this study point to possible improvements in methodologies that can strengthen the conclusions in this field of research going forward.
Recommended Citation
Barbone, Jordan, "The effects of participant-selected background music on executive function task performance" (2019). West Chester University Master’s Theses. 42.
https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/all_theses/42