The Effect of Different Types of Background Music on Sustained Attention

چکیده

Existing works of literature have conflicting outcomes on whether background music influences the ability to sustain attention. To have a deeper understanding of the different types of background music that influence sustained attention, this study was conducted to examine the task-focus states during the sustained attention to response task between slow tempo, fast tempo background music, and music absent conditions. Fifty participants performed the Sustained Attention to Response Task under three different conditions - no background music, slow tempo, and fast tempo played at random. The differences in reaction time and percentage of mistakes were measured and calculated between the three conditions. The differences between the three conditions for both Reaction time and percentage of mistakes was analysed using repeated measures ANOVA and a post-hoc test. Analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in reaction time and percentage of mistakes under the three conditions.  The findings from this study indicate that different types of background music did not have a significant effect on sustained attention in young adult males indicating that the type of music chosen for this study did not affect the sustained attention span.