Annotated Bibliography #4 Angela Martin UWRT 1103/020

Dolegui, Arielle S. "The Impact of Listening to Music on Cognitive Performance." Inquiries

Journal/Student Pulse 5.09 (2013). <http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1657>

The article “The Impact of Listening to Music on Cognitive Performance” was a

description of a study performed to determine the effects of different genres of music at different

volumes on cognitive ability. The findings of previous studies as well as this particular study led

the author to conclude that silence is the best atmosphere for cognitive ability. Volume level is

more important than genre in affecting concentration; however, the genre of music still plays an

important role. For example, Dolegui claims, “These results indicate that a preferred type of

music can serve as a distracting factor when one is engaged in a cognitively demanding task

perhaps due to the fact that less cognitive resources are available when the attention is drawn to

the lyrics, emotions, and memories that such music can evoke.” This statement is interesting

because the mechanics of certain types of music are not considered in affecting cognitive ability,

but the distracting emotions that arise when we listen to our preferred genre(s).

Dolegui, alumni of the University of Maryland, published the article on Inquiries

Journal, which contains scientific articles about the social sciences, arts, and humanities. She

received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a concentration biopsychology, which gives

her credibility in performing and documenting the experiment. The intended audience of the

website and article is most likely students or academics studying the three fields mentioned

above. Many articles are condensed lab reports, just like “The Impact of Listening to Music on

Cognitive Performance”, which may not interest the average person or allow them to understand

the material.
  “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

extroverts . . . The findings supported their predictions and showed that cognitive

performance in silence was better than performance with background music, which in

turn was better than performance with background noise,” (Dolegui).

 “Through this process, it can be implied that it is easier to process information in the

presence of a minimal level of distraction. It can be implied that students should not listen

to any music or allow any auditory disturbance while studying to obtain maximum

performance level,” (Dolegui).

 “Classical music was not shown to enhance performance contrary to the study’s

expectations. Hence, the direct benefits of listening to music on cognitive processing

could be more of a fantasy than a reality,” (Dolegui).

I thought that the article “The Impact of Listening to Music on Cognitive Performance” by

Arielle Dolegui was very helpful in understanding the impact of music genre and volume on

cognitive ability. It was unbiased and somewhat difficult to read due to its scientific nature as a

lab report. For example, terms such as “repeated measure design” or “paired sample t-test”

were used to describe the study, which are terms that statisticians and scientists are more

familiar with. In my previous annotated bibliographies, my sources led me to question which

genres of music affected brain functions either in a positive or negative way. This source

provided a possible answer to this question, which is that our favorite genres of music tend to be

emotionally distracting, regardless if they are rap or classical. It also provided information

about the volume of music, which I had not previously considered. These facts are applicable to

my thesis question, but also brings up the negative aspect of listening to music while studying or
doing homework. The author concluded from the study that silence is the best atmosphere to

perform cognitive tasks in, which leads me to some questions such as: What are the other

negative aspects of listening to music? For people who have learning disabilities or attention

deficit disorders, is silence still a better option? What if you listen to a genre that is not

preferred? This source could help others researching genre of music and its effects on the brain,

volume of music and its effects on the brain, and the best atmospheres for cognitive performance.