Can Preference for Background Music Mediate the Irrelevant...

Applied Cognitive Psychology, Appl. Cognit. Psychol. 25: 625–631 (2011) Published online 21 July 2010 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/acp.1731 Can Preference for Background Music Mediate the Irrelevant Sound Effect? NICK PERHAM* and JOANNE VIZARD School of Psychology, University of Wales Institute Cardiff, Cardiff, UK Summary: Research suggests that listening to background music prior to task performance increases cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, through the mechanism of increasing arousal and positive mood. However, music preference has not been explored with regard to a more common and realistic scenario of concurrent music and cognition, namely the ‘irrelevant sound effect’†¦show more content†¦Early research into the impact of music on performance suggested that it was actually beneï ¬ cial to production or simple repetitive tasks (Uhbrock, 1961). Later research in the early 1990s claimed that listening to music (Mozart) prior to task performance increased spatial abilities when compared to either sitting in silence or listening to relaxation instructions (Rauscher, Shaw, Ky, 1993). Dubbed the ‘Mozart effect’, it was widely reported by the media and subsequently led to a number of policy changes (see Schellenberg, 2005). However, attempts to replicate the effect failed and a meta-analysis led to the speculation that the Mozart effect was actually attributable to an increase in arousal (Chablis et al., 1999). Since this time, a series of studies reveal that listening to Mozart was in itself not alone in increasing performance. A ‘Schubert effect’ was also observed for those participants who preferred listening to his music and similarly those participants who preferred a narrated Stephen King story demonstrated a ‘Stephen King effect’ (Nantais Schellenberg, 1999). Furthermore, when comparing the music of Mozart with more contemporary music using children, a ‘Blur effect’ was observed again suggesting an effect of preference (Schellenberg Hallam, 2005). The arousal and mood hypothesis proposes that listening to a liked piece ofShow MoreRelatedArt as an Embodied Imagination22095 Words   |  89 Pagesbodily but how the body informs the logic of thinking about art. We examine the links between embodiment, movement, and multisensory experience insofar as they help to elucidate the contours of art appreciation in a museum. We argue that embodiment can be identiï ¬ ed at two levels: the phenomenological and the cognitive unconscious. At the ï ¬ rst level, individuals are conscious of their feelings and actions while, at the second level, sensorimotor and other bodily oriented inference mechanisms informRead MoreArt as an Embodied Imagination22095 Words   |  89 Pagesbodily but how the body informs the logic of thinking about art. 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