THE COMPLETE BRAIN WORKOUT

How Presence of Background Music Affects the Cognitive

Behaviour of Individuals in Tasks Requiring Sustained
Attention?

Group 6

Komal Khan 24110258

Esha Nawaz 24110018
Yamaima Azeem 24110173
Daniyal Ziafat 23110193
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 3

INTRODUCTION 3

LITERATURE REVIEW & THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 4

SUSTAINED ATTENTION RESPONSE TASK 8

EXPERIMENT 8

RESEARCH QUESTION 8

DEPENDENT VARIABLES 8

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES 9

HYPOTHESIS 10

METHODOLOGY 10

RESULTS & ANALYSIS 11

GROUP MEANS BY BACKGROUND MUSIC 11

GROUP MEANS BY STATE OF MIND 12

INTERACTION EFFECT OF BACKGROUND MUSIC GROUP & STATE OF MIND 13

GAMERS VS NON-GAMERS 14

INTERACTION EFFECT OF GAMER STATUS *BACKGROUND MUSIC 14

GROUP MEANS BY TEMPO 15

INTERACTION EFFECT OF TEMPO *BACKGROUND MUSIC 15

LIMITATIONS 16

CONCLUSION 17

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WORK CITED 18

ABSTRACT

Music has cognitive and behavioral effects on listeners, influencing their mood, attention,
and performance on various tasks. Despite the widespread use of music, the literature is
inconclusive about its effects on sustained attention, with some studies finding that music
improves task-performance and reduces mind-wandering, while others have found that
music can interfere with memory and attention processes. This study investigates the
relationship between music and sustained attention and explores how the choice of music
and the presence of a history of gaming may influence this relationship. The study collects
subjective reports of attentional state and reaction time measures of performance and uses
a within-subjects design to compare the effects of different music conditions on sustained
attention. Our Findings suggests that people had more sustained attention when they
worked with music of their own choice.  Additionally, the study provides insights into the
potential benefits of music for individuals with a history of extensive gaming and may
inform the development of music-based interventions for improving attention and
performance in this population.

INTRODUCTION

Sustained attention refers to the ability to maintain focus on a task over a prolonged period
without becoming distracted or fatigued. This type of attention is essential for successful
performance in many real-world situations, such as driving, studying, and working in a
monotonous environment. Despite its importance, sustained attention can be challenging to
maintain, especially when the task is monotonous or lacks intrinsic interest. To alleviate this
challenge, many people turn to music as a form of external stimulation to help them stay
focused.

Music has long been a part of human culture, with people listening to music for enjoyment,
entertainment, and as a means of self-expression. However, music can also have cognitive
and behavioral effects on listeners, influencing their mood, attention, and performance on

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various tasks. Despite the widespread use of music, the literature is inconclusive about its
effects on sustained attention, with some studies finding that music improves task-
performance and reduces mind-wandering, while others have found that music can
interfere with memory and attention processes. These conflicting findings may be due to the
different theoretical frameworks used to explain the effects of music on attention, such as
the arousal framework and the cognitive-load framework.

The arousal framework suggests that music promotes arousal and optimizes performance at
tasks, while the cognitive-load framework argues that music takes up cognitive space and
impairs performance on even simple tasks. Individual differences in music preference may
also play a role in the relationship between music and sustained attention, with some
individuals showing greater benefits from listening to preferred music than others. In
addition, the effects of music on sustained attention may be moderated by the arousal level
of the task, with optimal performance occurring at intermediate levels of arousal.

In addition to the potential influence of music on sustained attention, our research is also
interested in exploring the role of gaming on sustained attention as a moderator. Some
research has suggested that gaming may have cognitive benefits, such as improved
attention and problem-solving skills (Granic, Lobel, & Engels, 2014). However, other
research has found that excessive gaming can lead to negative consequences, such as
impaired attention and social skills (Kuss & Griffiths, 2012). Given these conflicting findings,
it is important to further investigate the potential effects of gaming on sustained attention.

Ultimately, our research aims to contribute to the understanding of the cognitive and
behavioral functions of the brain. Our study will use a within-subjects design to compare the
effects of different music conditions on sustained attention and will include a sample of
participants with and without a history of extensive gaming. The results of our study will be
useful for understanding the cognitive and behavioral effects of music and gaming on
sustained attention, and for identifying the potential practical applications of these variables
in real-world situations that require sustained attention.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW & THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Literature is inconclusive on if sustained attention has a positive correlation with

external variables such as music. Generally, most of the literature supports that music
engages with the areas of the brain which are involved with paying attention, updating
memory events and even in making predictions (Baker, 2007). Past research shows that
performance is better with background music compared to silence on simple tasks (Ünal et
al., 2013). Fontaine and Schwalm (1979) surmised that familiar music elevated participants’
heart rate and correct detections on a simple acuity task and has been linked to scarce mind-
wandering episodes. However, some academics are of the opposite view. Ferreri and Verga,
in their study about cognitive neurosciences concerns of music, say that “music has also been
suggested to hinder mnemonic performance by dividing attention (166).” However, they also
emphasize how music creates a “dual-task situation” where music might interfere with
memory and recall attention processes (Ferreri and Verga ,167). Further, North and
Hargreaves (1999) mention the “cognitive-load framework” and argue that music takes up
cognitive space and impairs performances on even simple tasks because of the decrease in
cognitive space. Contrarily, Linnell and Kiss argue through the “arousal framework” where
the background music increased the ratio of task-focus states in comparison to wandering
mind and showed how music promotes arousal in tasks and hence, optimizes performance at
tasks.

We aim to research on how music relates to sustained attention to response tasks but what we
wanted to include in our research is how the variable of introducing no music, self-selected
music or selecting the music for them affects this correlation. What we intend to find is how
the choosing of music can potentially lead to greater attention span or not. Linnell et al.,
explain that preferred background music can enhance “task-focused attentional states on a
low-demanding sustained-attention task and are compatible with arousal mediating the
relationship between background music and task-performance.” Using self-selected music
which is preferred by the individual manipulates the “arousing-ness” of the environment of
the task in an ecologically valid manner (Linnell & Kiss, 2020). An important thing to
consider is attentional lapses and why they would occur. According to a 2004 study, they are
“underpinned by the ‘locus coeruleus–norepinephrine system” (Cohen, Aston-Jones, &
Gilzenrat, 2004). The locus coeruleus–norepinephrine system is a neuromodulatory nucleus
in the brain stem that projects norepinephrine to the neocortex and mediates effects of arousal

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(Berridge & Waterhouse, 2003). When mind arousal is too low or too high, people perform
poorer at tasks that require attention (Aston-Jones & Cohen, 2005) and experience attentional
lapses that have been characterized as “mind-wandering” (hypo-arousal) or “external
distraction” (hyper-arousal) (Unsworth & Robison, 2016).

Deciphering the effects of music on various on-task and off-task attentional states is
imperative theoretically and practically because it would enrich our understanding of when
listening to music can be beneficial for real-life situations and about our “core attentional
function” and the implicit relationship between brain arousal and attention. Another element
that we are introducing is if the person has a history of gaming or not and how that might
have a correlation with increased attention spans. To our knowledge, no other study has
explored the relationship between music and the prevalence of the factor of extensive gaming
and its effects on sustained attention spans even with external stimuli such as music. In the
paper titled ‘Modeling performance in the Sustained Attention to Response Task,’ Robertson
et al. (1997) describes sustained attention as “the ability to self-sustain mindful, conscious
processing of stimuli whose repetitive, non-arousing qualities would otherwise lead to
habituation and distraction to other stimuli (747).”

There has been extensive research and tests on this concept and one concept that was most
prominent was how classical music has been known to cultivate higher attention spans and
lead to increased focus. We came across the ‘Mozart Effect’ which has a plethora of studies
conducted on it (Nantais & Schellenberg, 1999). Pramono et al., in their paper “The Effect of
Classical and Jazz Background-Music on Concentration and Reading Comprehension in
Young Adult Women'' surmised that “Classical and jazz music activates α brain wave that
stimulate the excretion of β-endorphins that has a role in increasing the alertness and attention
(965).” Vinod Menon in his paper “Neural Dynamics of Event Segmentation in Music:
Converging Evidence for Dissociable Ventral and Dorsal Networks'' says: “I'm not sure if the
baroque composers would have thought of it in this way, but certainly from a modern
neuroscience perspective, our study shows that this is a moment when individual brains
respond in a tightly synchronized manner.” (Baker, 2007) Johnathan Berger, coauthor of
study, says “Music engages the brain over a period of time and the process of listening to
music could be a way that the brain sharpens its ability to anticipate events and sustain
attention (Baker, 2007).” We wanted to take this correlation and see if this held any
implications if used for gamers versus people who do not game and how their focus and
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decision-making ability will differ from one another. We also included the effects of how
genre or Beats-per-minute (BPM) would have different effects on the attention spans of those
listening and performing the SARTS test. We used this test to imitate the monotony and
boringness of real-life and to maximize the potential for music to be the one to produce the
innate arousal factor in the mind. Moreover, Bothell and Peebles describe SARTS as a
“computer-based task designed to measure a person’s ability to withhold responses to
infrequent and unpredictable stimuli during a period of rapid and rhythmic responding to
frequent stimuli.” The stimuli that we are introducing to the test is the inclusion of
background music.

Another remarkably interesting aspect through which we got inspired is how classical music
patterns have been incorporated in the gaming industry soundtracks. The gaming industry
uses music in the background of games in order to keep gamers focused. Gibbons in his
article “Blip, Bloop, Bach? Some Uses of Classical Music on the Nintendo Entertainment
System” gives case study examples of how game developers sample classical music in their
game music production. For example, he gives an example of the game ‘Captain Comic’ and
what makes Captain Comic stand out musically is that its soundtrack is comprised entirely of
classical tunes, some of which are quite well known: Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor,
Strauss's "Blue Danube" waltz, Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee," Schubert's
"Marche Militaire," and Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca" (Gibbons 41). 

Background music, referring to all the sound (including music and sound effect) which
appears in games, has long been acknowledged to be an indispensable part of modern video
games (Collins, 2008). Zehnder and Lipscomb concluded about the functions of music in
video games and said that they can serve to “enhance a sense of immersion, cue narrative or
plot changes, act as an emotional signifier, enhance the sense of aesthetic continuity, and
cultivate the thematic unity of a video game (6)”. Further, Zhang and Fu in their article, ‘The
Influence of Background Music of Video Games on Immersion”, they conducted research
which aimed to decipher about the role of video games background music in the influence of
players’ subjective immersion and they say, “the results of present research showed that
background music did increase participants’ immersion”.

What we aim to do through our research is to fill the research gaps mentioned. Our research
question is “How does the presence of background music affect the cognitive behavior of
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individuals in tasks requiring sustained attention?” By considering an expansive amount of
literature, we have chosen to add variables that have not been considered by researchers
before us. This is particularly the effect of being a gamer on the attention-based tasks even
during external stimulus music and its effects. We are also incorporating the effects of tempo
and BPM to our research to add more depth and make it more ecologically valid. While doing
this, we are also observing if the “Mozart Effect'' takes place and its consequent effects on the
attention spans of gamers and non-gamers. Further, we have also added the variable of their
current mind state in our study to see how music affects and arouses the state of mind and if
there is a correlation between the two.

SUSTAINED ATTENTION RESPONSE TASK 

A number of tests are used for measuring Sustained Attention. The two popular ones
includes the Contnious performance Task (CPT) and the sustained attention response task
(SART). CPT is more commonly used in diagnosis of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) or in cases with frontal lobe damage. For our Experiement we will be using SART
since its less vulnerable than the classic CPT to responses becoming quickly automatic rather
than controlled.SART is also considered more sensitive for measuring the ability to sustain
attention to dull but demanding task. Although both CPT and SART have similar perceptual
demand, SART requires greater inhibitory control compared to CPT. SART also places
emphasis on response speed and accuracy.Thus the Speed-Accuracy tradeoff makes the task
sensitive to strategies. (Jun, 2021) 

In the SART test , participants are presented with 1-9 digits at a rate of one digit every 1.15s
in random order. Each digit is presented for 250 ms followed by a mask for 900ms and the
respondents have to press space bar as rapidly and accurately as possible except for the
scenario in which digit 3 is flashed on screen. The task lasts for around 5 minutes and consist
of 225 trials.Every digit is flashed 25 times in a random order.  (Peebles & Bothell, 2004).
Sustained Attention is measured based on the number of “Go mistakes” and “No Go
mistakes” a participant makes. “Go mistakes” refer to responses in which individuals did not
press space bar although the digit presented was not 3. The more frequent “No-Go
mistakes” occur when 3 is flashed on screen and the participant still presses the space bar. 

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 EXPERIMENT 

Research Question
 
“How does presence of background music affect the cognitive behaviour of individuals in
tasks requiring sustained attention?”

Dependent Variables 

● SART No Go Mistakes
Sustained Attention Response Task uses the “No Go mistakes” as the primary
indicator for measuring sustained attention in the five minute task with 225 trials.
The no go mistakes records the errors made my individuals when the digit 3 flashed
on the screen and the participants still erroneously responds to the stimulus by
pressing the space key. 

● SART Go Mistakes 
“Go mistakes” are another indicator of sustained attention.These have lower rate of
erroneous responses as it records error committed when digit 1-9 except 3 are
flashed on screen and the participant does not press the space key afterwards. 

Independent Variables 

● Background Music 
Background Music is the independent variable and consist of three categorical
independent groups. Group 1 represents the absence of background Music, Group 2
represents self-selcted music, Group 3 represents classic Mozart music. 

● State of Mind
State of Mind is the mediator variable i.e. the state of mind caused by presence or
the absence of music can influence sustained attention. It is categorical with three

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 levels namely mind-wandering, task-focued and external distraction. 

● Gender 
Gender was included as a categorical control variable which also consisted of two
distinct groups namely “male” & “female”. Although not a focus of our study but
presence of this moderator variable can help us see if sustained attention of an
individual relates to their gender. 

● Gaming Status
The nature of SART task is as such that it measures both motor impulsivity and
sustained attention. The task requires speed and accuracy. People who play video
games regularly will naturally be better at such tasks as compared to people who
don’t partake in such games. Therefore, Gaming status was also added to the model
to control for the effects of reflexes developed over years due to gaming. Its a
moderator variable with two levels namely “gamer” and “non-gamer”.

● Tempo
The tempo of the music tells about the beat per minutes in one minute. It tells us
how fast or slow a piece of music is performed. To analyse whether songs with
specific bpm are better to sustain attention comapred to others we also included this
variable in our analysis. Its also a categorical independant variable. We made three
categories based on the data collected ( songs with 50-100BPM , 101-150BPM , 150+
BPM). The classic Mozart music selected for the experiment had 156 Beats per
Minute. 

Hypothesis 

We’ll be using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to test the following hypothesis
as a part of our experiment : 

Null Hypothesis  Ho: Background Music does not help increase sustained attention 

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Alternative Hypothesis HA : Presence of Background Music helps increase sustained
Attention 

We’ll also see whether listening to any type of background music helps sustain attention or
does self selecting music has a significant positive or negative effect on sustaining attention.
Apart from testing these hypothesis we will also be testing whether a particular genre or
tempo of music specifically helps in sustaining attention when performing dull and
demanding task.

METHODOLOGY

A sample of 31 individuals was selected for the experiment.It consisted of 15 male and 16
female participants.The participants were divided into three groups on a random basis.To
increase validity of results and to avoid the learning curve effect, different individuals were
selected for each group.Each participant was asked to self report their state of mind by
choosing one of the three options (mind-wandering , task-focused , external distraction)
before the beginning of experiment  .They were then assigned to perform the SART task
under varying condition of background music. 
● Group 1 No Music Group: Group 1 was no music group in which participants were
assigned to complete the SART task with no background music present. 
● Group 2 Self Selected Music : Participants in Group 2 were allowed to choose music
of their preference as they performed the task.Information about the self selected
song was collected at end of experiment. 
● Group 3 Given Music: Participants in Group 3 were asked to perform the SART task
while listening to Classic Mozart to test the Mozart effect. 

After the completion of task by Individuals, the number of go and no go mistakes made by
each individuals were noted.Further information about their music choices as well as their
proficiency levels in gaming were asked. 

RESULTS & ANALYSIS

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 MANOVA

Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to measure the effects of

background music by comparing group means. Presence of more than one deponent variable
called for the use of MANOVA for statistical analysis.
 Group Means by Background music
Background Music
Dependent Variable Group Mean Std. 95% Confidence Interval
Error Lower Upper
Bound Bound
SART No go 1 7.818 1.075 5.615 10.021
mistakes 2 4.500 1.128 2.189 6.811
3 7.300 1.128 4.989 9.611
SART go mistakes 1 2.364 .683 .964 3.763
2 .800 .717 -.668 2.268
3 1.800 .717 .332 3.268

Group 1: No music. Group 2: Self Select Group 3: Music Given

We can observe that the least mistakes were made when the participants were listening to
music of their own selection. Most mistakes were made when there was no music however
there is not much difference when they were given music which in this case was classical
music in the form of Mozart. We did not find any observable effect of Mozart on the
sustained attention of the participants while music of their choice had the most positive
impact. This result remained consistent for both START no go and START go mistakes and
can also be observed in the following graphs:

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Group Means by State of Mind

Group 1: Mind Wandering      Group 2: Task Focused Group 3: External Distraction

We has 14, 10 and 7 observations for group 1, 2 and 3 respectively for state of mind. As expected the
least mistakes were made when the participants were task focused and the most were made when
their state was mind wandering and external distraction. This was consistent for both START go
mistakes and START no go mistakes. Which can be observed through the following stats:

STATE OF MIND
State of Mind Mean Std. Deviation N
 

SART no go mistakes 1 7.29 3.832 14

2 4.80 3.910 10
3 7.71 2.752 7
Total 6.58 3.749 31
SART go mistakes 1 2.29 2.867 14
2 .80 1.874 10
3 1.71 .951 7
Total 1.68 2.286 31
Interaction effect of Background Music Group & State of Mind 
BACKGROUND MUSIC * STATE OF MIND
Dependent Group State of Mean Std. 95% Confidence Interval
Variable Mind Error
Lower Upper Bound
Bound
SART no 1 1 9.000 1.479 5.933 12.067
go 2 6.250 1.811 2.494 10.006
mistakes 3 7.000 3.623 -.513 14.513
2 1 4.800 1.620 1.440 8.160
2 2.000 2.092 -2.338 6.338
3 7.500 2.562 2.188 12.812
3 1 8.000 2.092 3.662 12.338
2 5.667 2.092 1.329 10.004
3 8.000 1.811 4.244 11.756

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 SART go 1 1 4.167 .836 2.434 5.900
mistakes 2 .250 1.023 -1.872 2.372
3 8.882E-16 2.047 -4.245 4.245
2 1 1.000 .915 -.898 2.898
2 4.441E-16 1.182 -2.451 2.451
3 1.500 1.447 -1.502 4.502
3 1 .667 1.182 -1.784 3.117
2 2.333 1.182 -.117 4.784
3 2.250 1.023 .128 4.372

The most mistakes were made when there was no music and their state of mind was mind
wandering closely followed by the condition of the music being Mozart with their state of
mind being External distraction and vice versa.  The least mistakes were observed when
the state of mind was task focused and they selected them music themselves. This is
consistent with our independent observations for State of Mind and Background Music. The
results were consistent for START go mistakes and START no go mistakes and can be
observed from the following stats:

Gamers Vs Non-Gamers

0: Non-Gamer 1: Gamer

 Gamers observably were better at the game and made less mistakes and that we expected
because of their brains are used to playing games such as the ones in this experiment and they
were all visibly more focused on getting perfect scores.

Gamer / Non-Gamer

Dependent gamer/non Mean Std. 95% Confidence Interval

Variable gamer Error Lower Upper Bound
Bound
SART no go 0 7.389 .872 5.593 9.185
mistakes
1 5.111 1.026 2.998 7.224

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 SART go mistakes 0 2.514 .513 1.457 3.571

1 .333 .604 -.911 1.577

Interaction effect of Gamer Status *Background Music

  The least mistakes were made by Gamers who chose their own music. The most were
made by gamers and especially those who were playing the game with no music or with
Mozart. This can be observed in the following table:

Background Music * Gamer/Non-gamer

Dependent Grou gamer/non Mean Std. 95% Confidence Interval
Variable p gamer Error Lower Bound Upper Bound
SART no 1 0 8.750 1.256 6.162 11.338
go 1 5.333 2.052 1.108 9.559
mistakes 2 0 5.250 1.777 1.590 8.910
1 4.000 1.451 1.012 6.988
3 0 8.167 1.451 5.179 11.155
1 6.000 1.777 2.340 9.660
SART go 1 0 3.125 .740 1.601 4.649
mistakes 1 .333 1.208 -2.155 2.821
2 0 1.750 1.046 -.405 3.905
1 .167 .854 -1.593 1.926
3 0 2.667 .854 .907 4.426
1 .500 1.046 -1.655 2.655

Group Means by Tempo

1: 50-100 2: 101-150 3: 150+

Least mistakes were made when the songs had 101-150 BMP. Most mistakes were made
when they were listening to music with BPM greater than that.

Tempo

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 Dependent Tempo/BPM Mean Std. 95% Confidence Interval
Variable Error Lower Upper
Bound Bound
SART no go 1 4.800a 1.679 1.257 8.343
mistakes
2 4.200a 1.679 .657 7.743

3 7.300a 1.187 4.795 9.805

SART go mistakes 1 .600a .710 -.897 2.097

2 1.000a .710 -.497 2.497

3 1.800a .502 .741 2.859

a. Based on modified population marginal mean.

Interaction effect of Tempo *Background Music

 Least mistakes were made when the participants selected music themselves and the
BPM was between 101 and 150. This is shown in the following graphical interpretation of
the statistics. The data was consistent for both START no go mistakes and START go
mistakes.
Estimated Marginal

Estimated Marginal Means of SART

no go mistakes By Tempo
Means

8
6 7.3
4 4.8 4.2
2
0
1 2 3
tempo/BPM

The findings of the present study have important implications for a variety of real-world
settings, including educational settings, workplaces, and recreational activities. In educational
settings, music may be used as a tool to enhance students' attention and performance on tasks,
particularly for those with a history of extensive gaming. In workplaces, music may be used
16
to improve employee productivity and reduce mind-wandering and external distraction. In
recreational activities, music may be used to enhance focus and enjoyment. However, it is
important to note that the effects of music on sustained attention may vary depending on
individual differences in music preference and arousal level, and that more research is needed
to fully understand the complex relationship between music, gaming, and sustained attention.

LIMITATIONS

We identified the following inherent limitations of our experiment:

● Self report of mental state: The participants were allowed to select the the state of
mind they were in. Their self reporting has the potential to be baised as they might not
be willing to share their actual state of mind, or might want to state it other than what
it actually is or our chosen categories might not be am accurate description for them.
● Convenience sampling: Since the sample that we used for playing this game was our
university colleagues, the experiment is subject to convenience sampling. Most of the
participants were of the same age and they were mostly students.
● Response bias:  When asked to self select their music, their choices would be
subjected to response bias as they might feel like picking a nicer song over what they
would normally listen to when studying. 

Model Limitations
MANOVA procedures are more complicated than univariate procedure and thus are harder to
interpret and may be ambiguous. 

Limitation of the START Test

A limitation of SART test is that some studies consider it to be a better measure of motor
impulsivity compared to sustained attention. One such study states that SARTs are useful tool
for measuring control and exploring motor impuslivity. Making it much longer would
provide a better estimate of sustained attention (Helton, 2008). 

CONCLUSION

We were able to derive the following conclusion from our experiment

● People had more sustained attention when they worked with music of their own
choice. 
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 ● The music had more impact if it had a tempo of 101-150 beats per minute.
● People whose state of mind was task oriented had the least amount of mistakes and
greater sustained attention. 
● Gamers overall had better performance during the game. 
● People who were given mozart or no music had lower sustained attention especially if
their state of mind was external distraction or mind wandering.
From these were were able to conclude that when an individual is task focused, selecting their
own music to listen in the background helps them such that they have greater sustained
attention provided that the tempo is between 101 - 150 beats per minute. 

DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Lastly, for future research, we suggest that researchers look into why exactly gaming has led
to better focused attention spans and lower lapses for the SART test, what are the inherent
factors that make it easier for gamers to focus, is it related to the hours spent gaming or are
their visuospatial skills better than a person who does not play games?

Visual selective attention is the ability of the brain to focus in on impertinent visual
information while blocking out less essential information. Future researchers can aim to
measure this by adding another variable of making the sample play a video game for one hour
and seeing the change in results in attention to decipher the correlation between gaming and
attention and if non-gamers would also be more focused after playing before the SART test.
The changes in attention spans and for how long they last can be measured and analyzed.

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