Lagunas 1

Edward Lagunas Jr

ENGL 1302-223

Dr. Sharity Nelson

14 February 2022

The Effects of Music on Productivity and Mood

Introduction

Music has been at the forefront of entertainment for many decades. Many often credit

music for its ability to heighten both the excitement and emotions of anyone who listens to it.

However, some often wonder if these effects correlate with boosting productivity and enhancing

mood when completing work. According to some studies, students often experience better

productivity when listening to music while completing homework. For example, Glenn

Schellenberg states, "The impact of music on listeners' emotional state is well documented, as is

the effect of emotional state on participants' performance on a wide variety of cognitive

measures." (Schellenberg 5). Schellenberg's statement on the impact of music on emotional

states is crucial as it gives insight into how music can have advantages in cognitive performance.

While it can be argued that music has no natural effect on productivity, music is an essential

aspect of any student's life because of its effects on a student's mood, leading to better

productivity when completing homework, studying, and relaxing. However, what effects does

music really have on the mind? Are there improvements in mood? Productivity? The following

paper is a foray into what effects music does hold over the mind looking over multiple genres,

task, and emotions.

 Lagunas 2

Explaining the Experiment

Over a four-day period a set of tests were performed to confirm if music has any effects

on mood that can lead to better productivity performance. The study was conducted during a

typical school week from Monday to Wednesday. It was performed every day after school at the

same time to ensure the participants were all present. Participants were chosen based on their

student affiliation, such as full-time or part-time. Students followed a set of tests fitted with

music from a list that they were allowed to choose from to keep a level of control, to reduce

stress from the long day they had in school. The music they selected consisted of classical music

(Mozart prominent), Lo-fi hip-pop (No vocals), and slow-jazz (No vocals). In addition, the

following test included a 30-minute reading session of George Orwell's 1984 on Day 1, a small

100-piece puzzle on Day 2, and lastly, a 30-minute session of candy crush on Day 3. The music

played stayed consistent throughout the three days. The reading session was accompanied by

classical music, the 100-piece puzzle with Lo-fi hip-pop, and the Candy Crush session with

slow-jazz. Lastly, results were recorded after completing a test which included a small survey of

their overall mood and a record of their results such as how fast they completed a task, how

much of the test was completed, and if there was any stop in productivity. The test were

conducted separately every day for three days to ensure consistency throughout the experiment

and keep participants from tiring out quickly during the testing period.

Increase In Mood

The following results from the experiment that was conducted are essential in determining

the importance of how music affects mood. Students were kept in a quiet room with classical

music playing to ensure no distractions while reading. Student #1 had noted in their survey that

they felt calm and at peace while reading and had completed a total of 28 pages. Student #2 had
 Lagunas 3

also noted the same emotion but had read even more pages, totaling 34 pages read. Research

shows that "…the so called 'Mozart effect.' The effect refers to enhanced performance on spatial-

temporal measures after listening to music… compared to control conditions that involve sitting

in silence." (Schellenberg 6). Listening to classical music (prominently Mozart) showed that the

uplift in the mood for students #1 and #2 increased their productivity, allowing them to read

many pages in 30-minutes. However, student #3 had felt the opposite. They said they had felt a

bit annoyed with the music and had even read fewer pages with a total of 18 pages read.

Although both students #1 and #2 showed an increase in mood, which led to better productivity.

Student #3 showed an increase in annoyance and even decreased productivity. "Literature

supports the assertion that different forms of music (e.g., stimulating versus sedative) may have

differential effects upon participants.” (Cassidy et al., 518). According to the following

quotation, music has different effects on the individual, with some being more affected by

sedative music than stimulating music. This possibly explains why there was a discrepancy in the

test results.

Increase In Productivity

The second important aspect of these tests is increased productivity when listening to

music. Students were kept in a quiet room for this 10-minute puzzle sequence with Lo-Fi hip-pop

playing to ensure no distraction while completing the puzzle. Student #1 had noted they felt

content while completing the puzzle and had even completed the puzzle in about 6 minutes and

32 seconds. Student #2 had felt less anxious than when they began the test and completed it in 5

minutes and 58 seconds. On the other hand, student #3 had noted a feeling of satisfaction while

completing the puzzle and had even finished it in 5 minutes and 48 seconds. All students had

noted a change in mood compared to when they began the puzzles. One student had even noted
 Lagunas 4

an anxiety reduction when listening to music and completing the puzzle. "It is possible that the

effect of music upon anxiety is subtle." (Blood et al., 175). According to Deborah J. Blood and

Stephen J. Ferriss, music could have subtle effects on anxiety, which correlates with student #2's

reduction in anxiety while completing the puzzle. In addition, this anxiety reduction was able to

help improve the productivity of student #2 while completing the puzzle as they were able to put

together the puzzle quicker in the last 3 minutes compared to the first 2 minutes. This shows that

music's effects on mood can have even more significant effects on productivity and even help

reduce anxiety in some way during a test.

Increase in Cognitive Performance

Lastly, the third important aspect of this research is the overall improvement in cognitive

performance when listening to music while completing a test. Students were observed playing

Candy Crush for 15-minutes while listening to slow jazz to observe any effects on cognitive

function when listening to music. Student #1 had noted they felt an increase in overall joy while

listening to slow jazz and playing Candy Crush and completed a total of 20 levels. On the other

hand, student #2 had noted a feeling of relaxation and overall calmness while playing; however,

they only completed 14 stages, six less than the first student. Lastly, student #3 had noted feeling

the same mood as student #2 and had even completed 18 levels. According to Adrian Furnham

and Lisa, Strbac music results in slower performance when completing a task. "There was no

significant difference in performance when comparing performance under the music condition

with that in the noise condition (t(50) = 1.86, n.s.). Thus, performance was worse in the presence

of music and noise than compared to silence" (Furnham et al., 212). Student #2 had shown signs

of these results; however, their mood was elevated when completing the task. This shows that
 Lagunas 5

although music can hinder performance/productivity when completing specific cognitive tasks,

there is at least an overall increase in mood.

Discussion

The experiment concluded that listening to music while completing tasks boosted mood

overall, leading to better productivity in some circumstances. The study showed that some

students had different effects based on the genre playing. This showed that productivity and

mood could be improved in some instances with specific genres. In contrast, it could hinder the

productivity of specific individuals in others. This is important for students as it shows that

listening to music can help students complete specific tasks for educational purposes. All the

information gathered shows that music could positively affect students, further supporting some

research. However, there is still some research needed to be conducted to conclude which music

genre is best when completing a certain task.

Conclusion

In all, this research experiment was important in determining how music affects the mind

when in the process of completing a task. Furthermore, the experiment shined light into the

possibilities of music for stress relief and how it could help students who deal with daily

stressors reduce their stress and improve their mood. On the other hand, the experiment solidified

that music does in fact carry benefits for the mind and is an essential and necessary part for

development and stress management.

 Lagunas 6

Works Cited

Blood, Deborah J., and Stephen J. Ferriss. “Effects of Background Music on Anxiety,

Satisfaction with Communication, and Productivity.” Psychological Reports, vol. 72, no. 1,

1993, pp. 171–177., https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1993.72.1.171.

Cassidy, Gianna, and Raymond A.R. MacDonald. “The Effect of Background Music and

Background Noise on the Task Performance of Introverts and Extraverts.” Psychology of

Music, vol. 35, no. 3, 2007, pp. 517–537., https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735607076444.

Furnham, Adrian, and Lisa Strbac. “Music Is as Distracting as Noise: The Differential

Distraction of Background Music and Noise on the Cognitive Test Performance of

Introverts and Extraverts.” Ergonomics, vol. 45, no. 3, 2002, pp. 203–217.,

https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130210121932.

Schellenberg, E. Glenn, et al. “Exposure to Music and Cognitive Performance: Tests of Children

and Adults.” Psychology of Music, vol. 35, no. 1, 2007, pp. 5–19.,

https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735607068885.