This document summarizes two research studies on the impact of music. The first study examined how different genres of music at various volume levels affected cognitive performance on math tests. It found that participants performed best in silence and scored higher with soft music at low volumes. The second study analyzed how rap and yoga music influenced emotions of aggression. It determined that rap music increased physical and emotional aggression more than the relaxing yoga music. Both studies demonstrated the significant impact that music can have on cognitive processing and emotional states.

1. THE IMPACT OF LISTENING
TO MUSIC ON
OUR LIFE

3. Members:
• Tran Tuan Kiet
• Pham Quynh Mai
• Pham Minh Hoang
Lecturer:
• Nguyen Van Chuong

4. Article 1: The Impact of Listening to
Music on Cognitive Performance
PROVIDING BACKGROUND INFORMATION
• Who carried out the research? Arielle S. Dolegui
• Who were the subjects of the research? undergraduate students
• Why was it carried out? to focuses on the impact different genres of music, played at
different volume levels, have on the cognitive abilities of college students completing
academic tasks.
• Where was it carried out? from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in
Catonsville, MD
• How was it carried out? using five different arithmetic tests with thirty-two participants.
• When was the research published? 2013

5. SUMMARIZING A PREVIOUS STUDY
• What are the major research hypotheses in the study?
1. According to Smith and Morris (1977), the students performed worse while
listening to their preferred type of music.
2. Following to a study conducted by Furnham and Bradley (1997), the influence
of music on cognitive performance has also been linked to personality types.
3. Studies involving noise as a distraction have demonstrated the same ambiguous
results regarding their effect on cognitive processing as studies involving
background music. Dobbs, Furnham, and McClelland (2011) conducted a study
that tested the effect of distracters, specifically background noise and music, on
cognitive tasks for introverts and extraverts
• What were the main findings of the study? Be in agreement with the first
and the second hypothesis; in contrary to the third hypothesis

6. SUMMARIZING RESEARCH METHODS
• What research design was used in the study? Conclusive research
• What data were collected for the study? Result of test
• Describe the data collection procedures used in the study. The participants were asked to
solve five arithmetic tests with 20 different questions on each test. The first test was
conducted in the soft music condition at low intensity (Test 1- SM-LO), and the second
test, in the loud music condition at low intensity (Test 2-LM-LO). The third test was
performed in complete silence (Test 3- SIL). The fourth and fifth tests were conducted in
soft music and loud music conditions, respectively, both at high volume intensity (Test
4-SM-HI and Test 5 LM-HI). The participants were allowed sixty seconds to complete
each test. There was a twenty second waiting period between each test. The participants
were not allowed to use a calculator or any other electronic device to complete the
questions on the tests.

7. RESULT
• In agreement with the first hypothesis, performance scores were significantly higher in
silence (M= 12.94) than in all four music conditions, intensity levels, and types of music
combined (M= 11.99),t(31)= 2.21, p <.05. The second hypothesis was also supported in
the study; participants obtained significantly higher test scores at low intensity (M=
25.63) than at high intensity of both types of music (M= 22.34), t(31)= 4.75, p <.001.
Performance scores were also significantly higher in silence (M=12.94) than in loud
music at high intensity (M= 10.78), t(31) = -2.90, p< .05.
• However, there was also no significant difference in test scores between participants in
the soft music conditions (M= 23.75) and performance in the loud music conditions
(M= 24.22), t(31)= -0.56, p=0.582.

8. ANALYSING FINDINGS
• What were the main findings of the study? The present study sought to demonstrate
the impact of different genres of music played at different volume levels on cognitive
performance. In accordance with the first hypothesis, participants performed better in
silence than they did in any music conditions. The findings were also in agreement with
the second hypothesis. They demonstrated that the performance was significantly worse
in the presence of loud music at high intensity. Contrary to the third hypothesis,
however, there was no significant difference between the type of music that was played
and performance scores. The scores were not significantly higher in the soft music
versus the loud music condition. Interestingly, there was no difference when the scores
from the soft music at high intensity were compared to scores from the loud music at
high intensity

9. Article 2: The Impact of Music on Emotion: Comparing
Rap and Meditative Yoga Music
• Who carried out the research?
Matthew Kwong
• Who were the subjects of the research?
According to research by Bronnimann, Ehlert,
Finkel, Marca, Nater, and Thoma (2013)
Background information

10. Introduction
 Music has accompanied major social events
throughout the history of mankind. Major gatherings such
as weddings, graduations, or birthdays are usually
recognized by a familiar tune.
 There is evidence that music plays a large role in
emotional processes within the brain.
 An individual’s emotional state of mind can directly
impact daily cognition and behavior.

11. • Why was it carried out ?
As styles of music evolved, so did the understanding of
how certain melodies affect the mind. Evidence now
suggests listening to music has the potential to stabilize
the human psyche by eliciting a wide range both
negative and positive emotions.
• Where was it carried out?
University of Maryland, Baltimore County in
Baltimore, MD.

12. • How was it carried out?
Participants in this experiment consisted of 60 healthy
females between the ages of 20 to 30.
• When was the research published?
2016

13. Application: summarizing a
previous study
• What were the main findings of the study?
Music has a unique influence on the human psyche
because of its connection with emotional processes.
• Why was it important to carry out the
research?
With that goal in mind, the purpose of this current study was to
determine the degree of music’s influence on changes in emotion,
specifically in the domains of aggression using two extremes of audio
categories, relaxing yoga music and aggressive rap music.

14. • What is the relationship between this study
and the student’s own project?
The relationship between man and music is a
complex one. In contrast, Europeans of the late 18th
century Romantic Era perceived music as a double-edged
sword, capable of both curing and causing disorders (Rose
& Bartsch, 2009). It is possible that these societies
believed music possessed “magical” properties due to its
unexplainable yet observable influence on behavior.

15. Application: summarizing
research methods
• What research design was used in the
study?
75 volunteers were used for this research.
The sample consisted of college students over the
age of 18 at the college campus located at the
Universities at Shady Grove.

16. • What data were collected for the study?
The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (Buss &
Perry, 1992) was used to monitor aggression among the
participants.
The domains of physical aggression and hostility
were used to determine behavioral aggression while verbal
aggression and anger corresponded to emotional
aggression.
The songs “Andrei the Pit Arlovski” (Freddy Madball
& Jaysaun, 2011) and “Ready for War” (50 cent, 2009).
“Shadows of White” (Liquid Mind, 1995), the yoga
song.

17. • Describe the population, sample, and selection
procedures for the sample.
Prior to administration of the questionnaire,
participants were asked to close their eyes and listen to the
selection of music for a minute. This allowed listeners to give
full attention to the songs being played. Control group did not
listen to anything and took the questionnaire immediately.
After one minute of acoustic exposure, subjects were
instructed to complete the Buss-Perry Aggression
Questionnaire (1992) while the selected genre of music
continued to play in the background.

18. • Describe the data collection procedures
used in the study.
Music variables were manipulated in three levels, (1)
yoga/relaxing music, (2) no music, and (3) rap/aggressive
music. Group one listened to “Shadows of White” (Liquid
Mind, 1995). Group two had no acoustic stimulus and
completed the questionnaire in silence. Group three
listened to both “Andrei the Pit Arlovski” (Freddy Madball &
Jaysaun, 2011) and “Ready for War” (50 cent, 2009).
Answers were entered into the Buss &Perry (1992) online
tool for scoring (Available at http://psychology-
tools.com/buss-perry-aggression-questionnaire).

19. Application: analysing findings
• What were the main findings of the
study?
Music’s activation of aggressive emotions may
instigate aggressive perceptions and behaviors.

20. • What conclusions does the researcher reach
on the basis of their findings?
1. Research by Bronnimann et al. (2013) and Vaajoki
et al. (2011) demonstrated how relaxing music can have
profound effects on health, aiding in several
physiological recoveries.
2. On the other hand, results from the study by Mast et al.
(2011) and this current study suggest that aggressive
music can increase certain forms of aggression. The
human psyche has a unique ability to synchronize
external audio stimuli from music with certain emotions.

21. CONCLUSION
• Future research may want to further explore this connection between
emotions and music; the same concepts that was once perceived as
“magical.”
• Perhaps one day it would be possible to use music to
regulate moods instead of resorting to drugs.
• Based on these studies, it is clear that music has a
very unique effect on the body and mind.
• This connection should go on to be a
continuous and intriguing research topic
among scholars and scientists in the future.