Differential effects of stimulative and sedative music on anxiety, concentration, and performance
Differential effects of stimulative and sedative music on anxiety, concentration, and performance
Smith, C.A.; Morris, L.W.
Psychological Reports 41(3 Pt. 2): 1047-1053
1977
Music majors and psychology majors (30 each) were tested individually under stimulative, sedative and no-music conditions. Each subject was exposed to 1 of 5 types of music: classical, jazz and blues, country/bluegrass, easy listening and rock/rock and roll. Under each condition subjects indicated their worry about the test, emotionality or physiological-affective arousal, ability to concentrate, expectancy of performance and like or dislike of the music. Compared with sedative music stimulative music increased worry scores, interfered with concentration, and resulted in lower expectancies as predicted. The effects of music were understood in terms of cognitive processes rather than on the basis of physiological-affective responses to musical stimuli. A complex interactive effect on task performance was reported.