Every student has different study habits. From making flashcards to taking consistent breaks. One habit that is very common among students is listening to music as you absorb your knowledge. However, are there any effects to listening to music as you study? Could it be good or bad for focus?
There can be arguments made that music is a good thing to listen to while studying. According to an article by Florida National University, this is a very true statement. The article states,”Music activates both the left and right brain at the same time, and the activation of both hemispheres can maximize learning and improve memory.”
The article also states, “Rather than distracting college students, a Stanford study found that “‘music moves [the] brain to pay attention.’” Researchers utilized musical compositions from the 1800s in their study and found that “‘music engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory.’”
This shows how music can have a positive effect on you as you study. Assisting your focus, learning and memory while you listen. However there could be an argument made that this is not the case.
There are valid points to support that music does not in fact help you study. According to the University of Wollongong Australia, music can distract you and have negative effects when you study. The article states, “The research is fairly clear that when there’s music in the background, and especially music with vocals, our working memory gets worse. Likely as a result, reading comprehension decreases when people listen to music with lyrics.”
This shows how we could potentially be distracted by the lyrics in the music. It also shows how it can negatively affect our memory as we try to take in important information. There are both negative and positive points to this argument. But what if music doesn’t have an effect at all when you study?
According to the National Institutes of Health, this may be the case. The institute talks about how there may not be a correlation between listening to music and learning. The article states, “To measure learning outcomes we tested recall and comprehension. We did not find a mediation effect between background music and arousal or mood on learning outcomes. In addition, for recall performance there were no main effects of background music or working memory capacity, nor an interaction effect of these factors.”
However the article also states that, “when considering comprehension we did find an interaction between background music and working memory capacity: the higher the learners’ working memory capacity, the better they learned with background music.” This shows that the effects of music just may vary depending on the person listening to it. There may not be any correlation or there could be some effects.
In conclusion, all three arguments have valid evidence to back it up. Just make sure that whatever you are listening to as you study is helping you succeed. Whether it be classical, Taylor Swift, or Kanye West. Have a good day Saint Joe!
