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Participants performed a working memory task in which trials included a visual array of five colored squares presented in a spatial orientation. On each trial, an initial set of colored squares was compared to a subsequently-presented second set, and the participant determined if the two sets were identical or if one square had changed in color. During this working memory task, using a within-subject design, participants listened to either no music, fast tempo music, or slow tempo music. Each subject received 10 trials of each treatment in a random order for a total of 30 trials. Both reaction time and accuracy were measured. It was found that both the Fast Tempo and Slow Tempo conditions produced faster reaction times than the No Music condition. The results are explained with respect to the effects of arousal and attention on working memory tasks.
Examination of the effects of music on memory and cognitive processes has a fairly extensive experimental history. There is little doubt that music can influence cognitive processes. Listening to music has been found to enhance learning and recall during cognitive tasks (as reviewed by Silverman, 2010; see also Palmiero et al., 2016), including performance using multiplication tables (Clausen & Thaut, 1997; Gfeller, 1983), phone numbers (Wolfe & Hom, 1993), random numbers (Jellison, 1976; Jellison & Miller, 1982; Silverman, 2010) as well as musical text (Wallace, 1994). While these studies presented music during the task, Perham and Vizard (2011) obtained an increase in performance when the music was presented prior to the cognitive task.
While it is unclear how music may facilitate memory, it is a frequently adopted view that the increase in arousal or mood produced by the music is what causes memory performance to be increased (Cassidy & MacDonald, 2007; Pelletier, 2004; but see Silverman, 2010; Madsen et al., 1975 for more cognitive explanations). The arousal or mood facilitates performance (Palmiero et al., 2016). McElhinney and Annett (1996) pointed out that musical stimuli can become integrated in memory with the target information and improve performance (see Silverman, 2010). The integration of music's melodic, rhythmic and lyrical features with the target information may occur. Madsen et al. (1975) describe this integration process as music providing a "structural prompt" which facilitates performance.
However, music...