Impact of Different Genres of Background Music on a Memory Test

Abstract. Many studies have examined the effects of different types of background music on cognitive abilities. However, the results of these studies range from finding music to be a significant distraction to finding it to be beneficial. This study examined the effects of different music genres and silence on a memory test. One hundred participants were randomly assigned to four different groups: silence (no music), classical music, rock, and the final group could choose any genre they liked. The California Verbal Learning Test – Second Edition (CVLT-II) was administered to assess participant’s memory. Anxiety was also assessed before and after the memory test to see whether the music had any effect. Generally, results suggested that music presence or genre had little tangible effect on memory or anxiety.