Perceptions of University students on the use of music as a means to facilitate the cognitive processes

Abstract

Finding measures which can help facilitate the cognitive processes and improve performance in academic activities would be of great benefit to students. This quantitative study aims to investigate the perceptions of university students on the use of background music to facilitate the cognitive processes and improve performance in academic activities and exams. It aims to set the ground for future studies into the effectiveness of background music as a tool to facilitate these cognitive processes. This would possibly provide a role for music to be used in educational settings and occupational therapy interventions. The survey technique was used for this study, and a questionnaire was designed and distributed among students within a chosen university through its online mailing system. Participation was voluntary and sixty university students, accounting for 0.5% of the total student population, submitted a response during the data collection period. Of these 60 students, 36 listen to music while engaged in academic activities, and 22 do not, having cited distraction as a reason; the remaining 2 students submitted an incomplete questionnaire. Following an in-depth statistical analysis using IBM® SPSS®, it was shown that the students who listen to music while engaged in academic activities do perceive music as a tool to facilitate the cognitive processes. Regarding the use of background music during examination sessions, the results showed that most students do not think that this would help improve their performance. Occupational therapists may consider the use of background music during interventions concerning cognitive function and may also recommend its use to their clients. The use of background music in an educational or occupational therapy setting should be done with due consideration of client preferences.