How Music Affects College Students

There has been extensive research focusing on the various types and attributes of music, and on the types of participants that researchers have studied. Dobbs, Furnham, & McClelland (2010) found that music can be distracting to a person when they are trying to study for an important exam. There has also been research that found that when the therapeutic values of music are applied to those suffering from pain or disease, that music is very beneficial as it releases endorphins and chemicals in the brain that

In a study done by Jennifer L. Lilley, Crystal D. Oberle, and Jon G. Thompson, Jr. at Texas State University, they tested the effects of grade consequences and music on test anxiety and performance. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of the participants grades if there were consequences and how music effects the participates anxiety and their test performances. There were previous works cited on how people improve their spatial cognitive task performances after listening to Mozart (Ho, Mason, & Spence, 2007). They also included studies where there were no benefits to people’s spatial cognitive task performances after listening to Mozart (Hui, 2006).

It can be proven, through literary research and personal experiences, that music has a positive effect on learning and memory. It can be concluded that these positive effects have an impact on patients with Alzheimer’s, on the motor skills and auditory memory of mentally disabled children, on students attempting to remember subject manner that they are learning, and on the affectivity of advertisements. On a personal note, music has facilitated my ability to remember things, both positive and negative, a number of times. For example, in high school I memorized the days of the week in French by singing them along with a tune that was already familiar to me. I have also had multiple experiences in which I remember things that I do not want

Most people multitask while listening to music in their everyday life. When people vacuum, they don’t forget to vacuum the other half of the room when a certain song comes on. In Mr.Cutler’s article, he tries to use evidence to support, connect, and persuade his audience that music will affect your academic work. That is why Mr.Cutler called the article “Don't Listen to Music While Studying.”

Peynircioglu of American University showed that among visual learners, music while studying increased the subjects ability to retain information better than it did in auditory learners or musicians. When tested to see whether meaningful melodies would be remembered better than non meaningful melodies, Musicians had a harder time remembering melodies that were determined to be meaningless than visual learners/nonmusicians but had a higher rate of

The Knowledge of reading music, and playing an instrument has proven to be beneficial to the learning curb in students including those of little to no background in a literary education to students in college. However, there are schools in America where music isn’t offered. Having a music program could create improved grades, memory, concentration, and quicken the learning process of literacy, but it is believed that music isn’t for everybody.

The results from this study show that students who listened to music while studying were less distracted. One possibility for this finding is that listening to music drowns out background noise, since studying in a public place has the potential for being loud. Also, we reject the second hypothesis because the results showed that females became more distracted while studying, in comparison to males. A reason for this is due to the social desire for females to talk and communicate.

On this slide we can observe a real brain scan on how does the brain react to music. There are many studies that suggest that music has the power to change people’s emotion and moods, and simultaneously activate several brain areas (Bigliassi, León-Domínguez, & Altimari, 2015; Brown, Martinez, & Parsons, 2004; Mitterschiffthaler, Fu, Dalton, Andrew, & Williams, 2007; Riby,

The aim of this study was to investigate how exposing subjects to varying auditory backgrounds while they were engaged in a memory task affected later recognition performance. Group A scored high as compared to group B. When the students of group A were asked about their experience most of them said that the music helped them to concentrate while giving the test. When they began writing the test, the music was a little distracting because many students were not used to listening to music as they studied but in the course of time the music starting

The formation of specific nerve cells, named neurons, allows the brain to learn and store information, communicate, and grow; this ability is called neuroplasticity Urban Child Institute, n.d. & Harvard University, n.d.). Neuroplasticity is impacted by music due to the all-encompassing nature that music possesses (Collins, 2014 & Kent, 2006 & Urban Child Institute, n.d.). Due to this, music can be considered a form of exercise for the brain; as the music passes through the brain, it causes the neuron networks to communicate through synapses (electrical pulses), the more synapses that occur in the brain, the stronger the corresponding neuron network is strengthened (Kent, 2006 & Urban Child Institute, n.d.). Neuroplasticity

Music resonates with inherent neuronal firing patterns throughout the brain; thus, music listening and music instruction can prime the brain for improved performance on spatiotemporal and other cognitive tasks. (qtd. in Črnčec, Wilson, and Prior 585)

Thesis: Music is a unique form of sound powerful enough to manipulate mood, feelings, and cognition.

The article “The effects of music on achievement, attitude and retention in primary school English lessons” by Koksal, Yagisan, and Cekic show the impact music has in the classroom. The Article claims “best learning environment is one that includes music” (Köksal, et al. 1897). Meaning music activates different parts of the brain that coincide with memory. Through an experimental study mentioned in the article shows music has a “increased achievement in English vocabulary learning” (Köksal, et al. 1899). Memory channels are activated and students are able to retain what is being taught through the use of music. Therefore the article suggests music is a method that can be used in primary schools to exercise the mind helping students hold onto what they learn for longer periods of time. The authors argue music brings out a different level of intelligence in the classroom. However the article fails to briefly describe traditional methods, other possible methods, and possible defaults of a music learning environment jeopardizing a overall well conducted study of music used as a source of education.

In recent years it’s become noticeable that students are using all different forms of music to help them while studying or doing homework. When listening to music one may notice how that person may tap their foot or drum their fingers, even though they appear to be focused on the task in front of them. The rhythm of the piece, whether it is fast or slow, causes the listener’s heartbeat to synch with it (How Music Affects Our Mood, 2014). The question however is which music to listen to. In some studies, test subjects show that the louder the music the more distracted the subjects became (Manthei, 2014). Doctor Emma Gray, a clinical psychologist in Britain, says, “If you choose the right music for the topic you are

Music elicits an emotional and cognitive response in all who listen to it. It is powerful at the individual level because “it can induce multiple responses – physiological, movement, mood, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral” (Francis, 2008,