Listening to Music Can Decrease Productivity


Do you love listening to music every day? So much so that you can’t stop listening to it? Even though listening to music can be a fun way to pass time, it can make concentrating on work very difficult.

Music can cause listeners to lose focus while performing tasks. When one listens to music while working, the quality of work may suffer because of the music's lyrics and beat.

A study conducted in 1980 involved two different groups of people. Each group listened to one kind of music—'danceable' music or 'quiet' music—while counting backwards. The study was aimed to see which group was able to count backwards while listening to music. The people who listened to the danceable music did terribly, while those who listened to quiet music did much better. Thus, the study suggested the negative effect of music on focus.

In another study, researchers studied participants to find the effects of music on concentration, specifically in terms of two general personality types: extroverts and introverts. Extroverts are people who are social and get energy from being with others. Introverts , however, are often shy and get energy from being alone. Participants in the study listened to the song “A New Sensation”, by INXS while memorizing pictures and reading text. The introverts struggled with the test, while the extroverts had no problem with it. The study conducted that this is because extroverts are more accustomed to noise in comparison to introverts.

The study shows that listening to music that has no lyrics is less distracting while performing verbal tasks, like reading, because it won’t ruin the listener's focus. In fact, music that is gentle and lyric-free can aid concentration.

Listening to music is great and often relaxing, but it can also disrupt the listener's concentration. So, next time, think about your music choices before you set out to get some work done!

[Source: The Atlantic ]

Great work Valeria! I really enjoyed reading your article! – Jackie Zuniga-Paiz , UW-Madison (2017-06-14 20:54)
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