Psychology Research Methods Journal

Volume 1 Issue 20 Article 6

6-2017

Music’s Effects on Memory

Madyson Carroll
Lindenwood University

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Recommended Citation
Carroll, Madyson (2017) "Music’s Effects on Memory," Psychology Research Methods Journal: Vol. 1 : Iss.
20 , Article 6.
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Music’s Effects on Memory

Madyson Carroll5
Many people believe that studying while background music is present enhances their eligibility
to remember the criteria better. The effects of music on memory was examined through the
completion of a memory card game. Young adults were asked to take part in this task twice. One
game included background music, while the other did not include background music.
Throughout each game, the amount of time it took the participant to complete the game in
seconds, was measured. I hypothesized that the inclusion of background music will have a
positive influence on one’s performance when completing a memory card game. However, the
findings suggest that there is no statistically significant difference between speed of solving the
game with the presence of background music or the absence of it.

Frequently, people encounter situations that involve immediately remembering an idea or

thought to complete a task. It is therefore of great importance for one’s brain to have the ability

to receive, process, store, and organize this information (Kirkweg, 2009). This ability can be

disrupted by different environmental variables, including background music. Music is typically

used on a day to day basis within humanity. Previous research has suggested that music can

influence listeners’ physiological, cognitive, and emotional states (Radocy & Boyle, 1997).

Additionally, music has previously been correlated with increased

reminiscence. Durnham and Whittemore (1993) conducted a study involving 12 older adults,

who were also women, listening to The Golden Age radio programs. During this process, the

women were also being asked multiple trivia questions. These stimuli created a common reaction

among all the participants, indicating that music can evoke memories and encourage

reminiscence.

5
Madyson L. Carroll, Department of Psychology, Lindenwood University. Correspondence concerning
this article should be addressed to Madyson Carroll, Department of Psychology, Lindenwood University,
St. Charles, MO 63301. Contact: [email protected]

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Similarly, El Haj, Antoine, Nandrino, Gély-Nargeot, and Raffard (2015) wanted to see if

exposure to music could enhance self-defining memories in Alzheimer’s Disease patients. An

experiment was conducted using 22 mild-stage Alzheimer’s Disease patients who were asked to

produce autobiographical memories in silence, while listening to researcher-chosen music, and to

their own-chosen music. Also, there were 24 healthier patients, which were used as a control

group. Results showed that the patients suffering from the disease showed better

autobiographical recall when listening to their own-chosen music than the other two conditions.

However, other studies have had varying results. Nguyen and Grahn (2017), wanted to see

how background music that varied in mood, arousal, and context affected verbal

memory performance. Three experiments were conducted involving a recall task, a recognition

task, and an associative memory task. In all three tasks, the background music was presented in

three different contexts, consisting of music played during studying only, music played during

testing only, and music played during both studying and testing. Their results concluded that

background music had either no effect or significantly hindered memory performance compared

with silence.

These prior studies have been conducted to determine whether the presence of

background music can influence a person’s memory. However, based on the results of the

previously discussed research, it is hard to tell if this influence is positive, negative, or if there is

one at all. The results are not consistent, clearly proving that this topic should be investigated

more, which is what this research is intended to do.

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Method

Participants

Young adults (ten women, two men, age range: 18-32 years) were recruited through the

Lindenwood Participant Pool (LPP) on Lindenwood University’s main campus in St. Charles,

Missouri. Participants were compensated two LPP points, a form of credit to be exchanged for

grade points, for participation in this study. The students who were recruited as participants for

this research project were enrolled in select sections of general education or introductory-level

courses in Anthropology, Athletic Training, Criminal Justice, Exercise Science, Psychology, and

Sociology. There were three freshmen, three sophomores, four juniors, and two seniors among

the participating. There were seven participants recruited as described above. The participants

accessed the information regarding my study and the sign-up process through

the website Sona Systems. Only one participant had never completed a memory card

game, similar to the one they were asked to complete.

Materials

The experiment took place in a small room consisting of four chairs, two desks, and two

computers. Each participant sat across from the researcher when attempting to

complete each task. Before beginning, each participant signed in and was given a research study

consent form (see Appendix A). This form provided the participants with the information needed

to understand the nature of the study. The research study consent form had to be read and signed

by all the participants, in order to continue their participation. Along with this form, the

participant was given a demographic questionnaire (see Appendix B). This questionnaire

consisted of six questions regarding gender, age, year in school, any hearing or vision

impairments, and whether they had completed a memory card game before.

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The memory card game depicted in my study, consisted of 10 various fast food

illustrations that were adapted from a random graphic design website. Each illustration was used

on 2 playing cards for a total of 20 cards (see Appendix C). Each card was 2 x 2 in. The cards

were placed face down in front of the participant. The participant was asked to turn over two

cards to reveal the two illustrations, trying to find matching cards. If the cards did not match, the

participant turned the cards back over and repeated the process until a match was made. All the

participants played this memory card game twice.

During one of the two games, background music was provided from a personal laptop at

the volume of 70. The song that was played was the instrumental version of Havana by Camila

Cabello, which was the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 list, at the time the study was

conducted, thus, being popular and possibly being more common to the participant. I used a

stopwatch to time each trial, which was then recorded in a personal notebook.

At the end of both trials, all participants were given a feedback letter (see Appendix D).

This letter thanked them for their participation in the study and provided all the information

needed for any further questions. Overall, the experiment took approximately 12 min.

Procedure

Before starting the experiment, the participant was given a research study consent form to

read and sign. Along with this form, the participant was given a demographic questionnaire to

complete. Once these forms were completed, the study commenced.

Each game began with the cards being shuffled and presented faced down in front of the

participant. Participants turned over two cards to reveal the 2 images, while trying to

find matching images. If the cards did not match, the participant had to turn the cards back over

and try again until a match was made. This process was repeated until all 10

images were matched to their pair. This process was completed once with background music and

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once without background music, and I measured the time it took the participant to complete each

task. These conditions were counterbalanced. Participants were instructed to complete the task as

quickly as possible. The time of both trials were recorded and later compared.

After completing both trials, all the participants were given a feedback letter. Once given

their feedback letter, the researcher answered and clarified any questions asked by

the participants, before they exited the room.

Results

During the analyses of the data, a related samples t-test was conducted to see if there was

a significant difference between all of the participant’s time, in seconds, to complete the memory

card game with and without background music. This related samples t-test established that there

was not a significant difference between all participants completion time with background

music (M = 87.17, SD = 28) and without background music (M =82.33, SD = 22.97), t(11) =

1.11, p = .29.

Discussion

As outlined previously, there were two possible outcomes for the participant’s

performance in the experiment: The participant’s speed could have increased when completing

the task with background music rather than without background music or the participant’s speed

could have decreased when completing the task with background music rather than without

background music. The results lent more support towards the second outcome, similar to the

study conducted by Nguyen and Grahn (2017).

Although the results are opposite of my hypothesis, it can be due to many variables.

The most influential variable that could have contributed to the study being statistically non-

significant, can be the very small sample size. A small sample size makes it hard to calculate a

difference between the results. However, some of the participants’ speeds did vary, meaning

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further work is required to gain a more complete understanding of the influence of music on

one’s memory.

Additional limitations can be only having two conditions, the song choice, bad shuffling

of the playing cards, or even fatigue within the participants. In the future, to better the study, I

would like to do a few things differently. Firstly, I would include another condition involving

lyrical music. Secondly, I would like to ask the participants what their preferred music genre is,

before performing the task, so I can then choose music based off of this. Thirdly, I would want to

ask the participants which condition they prefer, before and after performing the task. Fourthly, I

would want to consider making this an online study. This would allow more people to

have access to it, as well as, the possibility of creating an algorithm to better the shuffling of the

playing cards. In conclusion, I would want to see how these changes would affect the results.

References

“Camila Cabello - Havana (Official Instrumental).” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Jan. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbzNprOh7MI.

Durham, P. R., & Whittemore, M. P. (1993). Memory recall and participation levels in the

elderly: A study of Golden Age radio. Educational Gerontology, 19, 569-

575. doi: 10.1080/0360127930190608

El Haj, M., Antoine, P., Nandrino, J. L., Gély-Nargeot, M., & Raffard, S. (2015). Self-defining

memories during exposure to music

in alzheimer's disease.International Psychogeriatrics, 27(10), 1719-

1730. doi: 10.1017/S1041610215000812

Kirkweg, S.B. (2009). The effects of music on memory. Unpublished manuscript, Department of

psychology, Missouri Western State University, Missouri. Retrieved

from http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/230.php

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Nguyen, T., & Grahn, J. A. (2017). Mind your music: The effects of music-induced mood and

arousal across different memory tasks. Psychomusicology, 27(2), 81-

94. doi: 10.1037/pmu0000178

Radocy, R. E., & Boyle, J. D. (1997). Psychological foundations of musical behavior (3rd ed.).

Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

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Appendix A
Research Study Consent Form

Research Study Consent Form

Music’s Effect on Memory

Before reading this consent for, please know:

• Your decision to participate is your choice

• You will have time to think about the study
• You will be able to withdraw from this study at any time without being penalized
• You are free to ask questions about the study at any time

After reading this consent form, I hope that you will know:

• Why I am conducting this study

• What you will be required to do
• What are the possible risks and benefits of the study
• What alternatives are available, if the study involves treatment or therapy
• What to do if you have questions or concerns during the study

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Research Study Consent Form

Music’s Effect on Memory

You are asked to participate in a research study being conducted by Madyson Carroll under the
guidance of Dr. Michiko Nohara-LeClair at Lindenwood University. Being in a research study is
voluntary, and you are free to stop at any time without being penalized. Before you choose to
participate, you are free to discuss this research study with family, friends, or a physician. Do
not feel like you must join this study until all of your questions or concerns are answered. If you
decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form.
Why is this research being conducted?
I am doing this study to observe whether a person’s performance during a memory card game is
impacted by listening to music while completing the task or by not listening to music. I will be
asking about 75-100 other people to answer these questions.
What am I being asked to do?
When beginning the experiment, you will be provided with a consent form that you must sign to
participate. Some demographic questions will then be asked, but your identity will be kept
confidential. After these questions, you will begin the first trial with the memory card game with
or without music and then a second trial with the memory game with or without music, differing
the condition from the one experienced during the first trial.
How long will I be in this study?
In total, the experiment will take approximately 10-12 minutes.
Who is supporting this study?
No grant or funding agency is funding this study.
What are the risks of this study?
• Privacy and Confidentiality:

I will not be collecting any information that will identify you, such as your name.
What are the benefits of this study?
A potential benefit could be the feeling of accomplishment when completing the task at hand.
Will I receive any compensation?
Participants recruited from the LPP will be granted two bonus points for participation in the
research study.
What if I do not choose to participate in this research?
It is always your choice to participate in this study. You may withdraw at any time. You may
choose not to answer any questions or perform tasks that make you uncomfortable. If you
decide to withdraw, you will not receive any penalty or loss of benefits.
What if new information becomes available about the study?
During this study, I may find information that could be important to you and your decision to
participate in this research. I will notify you as soon as possible if such information becomes
available.
How will you keep my information private?
I will do everything I can to protect your privacy. I do not intend to include information that could
identify you in any publication or presentation, like your name. Any information I collect will be
stored by the researcher in a secure location. The only people who will be able to see your data

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are: members of the research team, qualified staff of Lindenwood University, representatives of
state or federal agencies.
How can I withdraw from this study?
Notify the researcher immediately if you would like to withdraw from this research study.
Who can I contact with questions or concerns?
If you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this research or concerns about
the study, or if you feel under any pressure to enroll or to continue to participate in this study,
you may contact the Lindenwood University Institutional Review Board Director, Michael Leary,
at (636) 949-4730 or [email protected]. You can contact the researcher, Madyson
Carroll directly at 618-920-5745 or [email protected]. You may also
contact Michiko Nohara-LeClair at [email protected].
I have read this consent form and have been given the opportunity to ask questions. I will also
be given a copy of this consent form for my records. I verify that I am at least 18 years of age or
have a parental consent form filed with the LPP Office. I consent to my participation in the
research described above.

__________________________________ _________________
Participant's Signature Date

__________________________________
Participant’s Printed Name

________________________________________ __________________
Signature of Principal Investigator or Designee Date

________________________________________
Investigator or Designee Printed Name

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Appendix B
Demographic Questionnaire
DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE

Please do not put any identifiable information on this questionnaire.

Please feel free to skip any questions you do not feel comfortable addressing.

1. Are you MALE OTHERFEMALEPREFER NOT TO ANSWER

2. How old are you? _______ years

3. Which of the following best describes you? (Circle one)

FRESHMANSOPHOMOREJUNIORSENIOROTHER
4. Have you ever completed a memory card game prior to today?

Yes No

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Appendix C
Memory Card Game

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Appendix D
Feedback Letter
Feedback Letter

Thank you for participating in my study. The present study was conducted to determine whether a
person’s ability to complete a memory card game can be impacted by listening to music during the task
or not listening to music during the task. I hypothesized that a person’s speed will increase when
listening to music compared to no music. I believe that the music will help them stay focused on the task
and will be eager to finish it.

Please note that I am not interested in your individual results; rather, I am only interested in the overall
findings based on aggregate data. No identifying information about you will be associated with any of
the findings, nor will it be possible for me to trace your responses on an individual basis.

If you are interested in obtaining the final results of this study based on aggregate data, or if you have
any questions or concerns regarding any portion of this study, please do not hesitate to let me know
now or in the future. Our contact information is found at the bottom of this letter.

Thank you again for your valuable contribution to this study.

Sincerely,

Principal Investigator:
Madyson Carroll 618-920-5745 ([email protected])

Supervisor:
Dr. Michiko Nohara-LeClair 636-949-4371 ([email protected])

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