The Effects of Background Music on The Screen-Based Reading Material Among University Students: An Eye Tracking Study

Reading performance is a crucial skill that can predict success in education. Many factors can influence reading performances, such as background music and perceiving the sentences while reading. This study explores the effects of music on screen-based reading materials among health sciences university students. One hundred twelve participants from The National University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Campus, participated in this study. Participants were asked to read and understand the general theme text given on the computer screen. The participants were segregated into two groups according to their preferred way of reading, either music or non-music. Then, participants in the music group randomly listened to rap or classic music (rap = 86 BPM or classic = 161 BPM) using a Sony headphone (MDR-XB450AP) while reading. The reading duration was recorded, and reading comprehension was determined by the correct answers to four questions based on the text. A webcam-based GazeRecorder software was used to measure the eye-tracking metrics (dwell time, first view time, and number of AOI views) on the area of interest (AOI). Reading speed is significantly associated with reading comprehension (rs = -0.1933, p = 0.0412). Reading duration, reading speed, and reading comprehension were not considerably different while listening to and not listening to music. The results show a similar pattern in all eye-tracking metrics. However, the reading duration while listening to rap music (2.68 ± 1.94 minutes) was significantly shorter (U = 299.5, p = 0.02642) compared to classical music (3.42 ± 1.91 minutes). Moreover, reading speed is significantly higher (U = 299.5, p = 0.02642) while listening to rap music (139.38 ± 102.96 wpm) as compared to classical music (109.47 ± 51.51 wpm). Music seems not to affect reading performance and eye-tracking metrics. Despite this, rap music can improve reading performance by reducing the reading duration and increasing reading speed.