Effects of Music and Gender on
Cognitive Performance
Makwana, B., Tart-Zelvin,
A., Pollak, A., & Williams, J.M.
Department of Psychology, Drexel University
A correlation between listening to music and test performance has been
looked at from several different perspectives. Cockerton,
Moore, & Norman (1997) found that participants who listened to music while
tested, completed more questions with increased accuracy than those who did not.
Additionally, Parente’s (1976) found that
test performance was better while listening to preferred music rather than less
preferred music. The
current study will be conducted through a survey using the Matching Familiar
Figures test on male and female participants ages 18-65 while listening to
music of their choice. The main
hypothesis for this study is that those
who believe music will enhance their performance will perform better when
listening to music. Additionally, this study will
examine possible gender differences in test performance while listening to
music and note the types of music participants chose to listen to while being
tested. The findings of this study could greatly help to improve testing
environments.
