Effects of Music Loudness on Task Performance and Self-Report of College-Aged Students

This study examined the effects of the loudness of background music on task performance of college students. In addition, students' perceptions of the music and the effect these perceptions had on performance were investigated. Two hundred undergraduate nonmusic majors were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: (1) task only (no music); (2) task plus background music presented at 60–70 dB (all decibel measurements here are on the C scale); (3) task plus background music presented at 70–80 dB; and (4) task plus background music presented at 80–90 dB. The performance task consisted of computing mathematic problems, and a questionnaire was subsequently administered to the task plus background music groups to assess perceptions of the background environment. Results indicated that (1) the experimental conditions had no significant effect on task performance; (2) the majority of subjects did recognize the music and were able to identify some of the selections; and (3) subjects in the 80–90 dB group perceived the music as most distracting, with the majority of these same subjects reporting that the musical element of loudness seemed to be the contributing factor. Findings are discussed in relation to current music and noise research, and implications for educational and therapeutic applications are given.