Memory and Music: The Effect of Musical Preferences While Reading

The effect of background music on cognitive processes is well documented; however, the influence of musical preference on memory remains largely unexplored. The objective of this research was to determine whether musical preference affects memory performance and confidence judgments. Participants first classified seven musical genres from the most to the least preferred. Then, they read a popular science article while listening to a song corresponding to their preferred musical genre or to their less preferred genre. After reading, participants completed a distractor task and then, answered a cued-recall memory test on the content of the article. Participants also indicated their confidence that their answer was correct. Results indicated no significant effect of music preference on memory performance or confidence. These findings suggest that musical preference does not influence memory recall or confidence in responses.