Music and Revision

People often think they revise better when listening to music they like, but a 2010 study at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff suggests that music may actually work against you if you are trying to memorize an ordered list, such as facts, numbers, elements of the periodic table.

The study looked at the ability to recall information in the presence of different sounds: (a) quiet, (b) music that they'd said they liked, (c) music that they'd said they didn't like, (d) a voice repeating the number three, and (e) a voice reciting random single-digit numbers.

Participants performed worst while listening to music, regardless of whether they liked that music, and to the speech of random numbers, and best in the quiet and while listening to the repeated "three."

Music may impair cognitive abilities because if you're trying to memorize things in order, you may get thrown off by the changing words and notes in your chosen song.

However, other studies have found benefits to listening to music you like before performing a task. The explanation may be that when you hear something you like, it heightens your arousal and mood, which improves performance.

So it may be best to listen to music beforehand, then revise in quiet.

Full report in September 2010 issue of Applied Clinical Psychology.

The Chart Blogs, Music may harm your studying, 27 June 2010