Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Unforgettable: The Relationship Between Music And Memory, Samantha Beedy

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

For generations, college students have claimed that listening to music helps them to study better. But does research support this idea? Past research on the subject has yielded mixed results. Some studies suggest that music helps enhance cognitive performance, some find no difference, and some studies find that music hinders cognitive performance. The present study explored the relationship between soft background music and working memory. Participants were given lists of words to memorize and recall on a blank sheet of paper. Each participant completed two memorization and recall trials, one with music and one without. Participant’s recall performance was compared. …