Effects of Noise and Music on Human Memory and Concentration - Assignment Example

Effects of Noise and Music on Human Memory and Concentration Effects of Noise and Music on Human Memory and Concentration In the contemporary society, noise is an all but endless factor in people’s day-to-day lives. Sound from car traffic and construction sites are just examples of sources for noise pollution that can have negative effects on people’s health. However, the noise effect is not only centered on an individual’s health, but can also affect their thinking in forms of concentration and recollection of information. Different studies such as Daniel Deigards study of young adults at Stockholm University have shown that background noise is negative to tasks involving reasoning, concentration, memory status, and attention. In disparity, music or sound having harmony, tune or rhythm has been described to be as less distracting as commonly experienced noises such as wild chatter or unwanted auditory signal or disturbance when it comes to human vigilant performance (Larkin, 2001). On the other hand, when the music is too loud it becomes distractive and annoying. This paper is set to understand more about how different pitches of noise affect the memory of individuals in different places. Noise can be defined as un-wanted sounds in a place; however, music may not be regarded as noise to may school of thoughts in the neurology fields. Earlier studies have exposed that reasonable volumes of background music ease performance in doings that encompass high levels of concentration and attention (Singleton, 2012) .For instance, rock music developed performance on a signal recognition task paralleled to relaxing instrumental music(Taylor, 2013). It was discovered that during a hard visual vigilance chores, music exposure prohibited detection latencies that were obvious during no music sessions (Kilaru, 2006). On the other hand, an increase in the volumes of noise has an adverse effect on memory and concentration. From the above data, participants who were in the café had a lower concentration than those in the library. Historically, noise has been considered a nuisance in society and there are a huge number of publications highlighting the adverse side effects of this inessential, unwanted sound (Taylor, 2013). These detrimental effects not only originate from prolonged exposure, but also acute exposure at high volume intensities has just a similar effect. Noise not only adversely affects human health, but affects human mental performance as well. Background or low-level sounds in the household, work, or school frequently disrupt people’s attentiveness. In accordance to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, high pitched noise also impacts individuals’ health by raising overall stress levels and stress-related illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart disease, digestive ulcers, and migraine head pains (In Norman, 2007). Experiment In order to comprehend the degree to which noise affects the concentration patterns a case study, an experiment was conducted on a sample of 40 individuals selected at random at different locations with dissimilar noise ratios. Objective of the Study The experiment was placed to comprehend the concentration and memory recall ability of an individual in an environment with different noise levels. The results from this experiment would shade more light on the phenomenon of how the mind or brain works when under certain stress levels or how an individual can perform duties that are considerably mentally challenging with constant noise destruction. Data Collection A total number of twelve students were chosen randomly regardless of their age and sex in collecting data for this experiment. The individuals were given a text, which was chosen for it use of figurative facts and after thirty minutes were tested on the information provided. The students were required to summarize the text they had previously read and try and be as specific with the facts as possible, for instance the height of a mountain in order to find a ratio on accuracy. In order for the test to be successful, the students were placed in areas with different sound levels and some of them were handed headphones that played music. This was done so to mimic a case where an individual would listen to music at different noise levels yet perform a similar task, this meant one would listen to music at a preferred volume as one had to work with music at high volume Data Analysis In the first part of the experiment, the student s were divided in groups of three. This was significant in order to find a mean on the results hence to authenticate the experiment. The four groups consisted of three students each were placed in different noise area. The first group in a moderately noisy room, the second in a library and the last two groups were given earphones that played music at loud volume and the last group was placed at their preferred volume. The second step in the experiment was to provide the scholars with reading materials that was based on Swiss tourism sites. The students were then given 15 minutes to read the text and clearly understand and memorize it. The third session of the experiment was set to allow the students some resting period that would provide them with ample time remember what they had gone through. After this period, they were asked to make a summary of the article and their results were taken for scrutiny. Figure 1: A Statistical Representation of the Case Study Done on Effects of Noise on Human Memory and Concentration Environment Time taken to study (paragraphs or text) Time taken to (answer fact from the paragraphs) Percentage in relating with the article Silent room 30 minutes 10 minutes 86.7% Moderately loud room 30 minutes 15minutes 60% Headphones (loud volume) 30 minutes 25 minutes 46.7% Headphones (moderate volume) 30 minutes 12 minutes 80% Results As per the data collected in the study, it was found out that concentration on the study in a quiet environ was higher than any other location. The students at this location were alert since there was no distraction in the exercise. This was evident from the summaries they wrote. The students quoted the text facts and figures and also used less time doing so. After the prescribed 30 minutes of the study and a selected rest period of 10 minutes, the participants scored 86.7% of the total score from the resulting test. In response to them being in a noisy room, they looked uncomfortable carrying out the study. The increased noise level proved a distraction to them. As a result, their summaries were not as clear and very little to no quotations of the text was used in the summary. The result tally showed a lower score of 60% in relation to the test The participants were later treated to some classical music at a tolerable volume and they later wrote their summary. They had a score lower than that in a silent location, which was better than that of a loud location. In relation to the result score, the students had an 80% score on the similarity of their answer and the text given to them. On the other hand, they were similarly treated to music but at high volume. The student could not relate to the article in their summary and did not make any quotes since they hardly gave any attention to it. From the numbers above, the study shows that noise can facilitate studies and be destruction as well. The first exercise where the students went through at a silent environment tends to support early studies that had been known to suggest that noise is destruction. A score of 86.7% shows that high concentration without any form of distraction may be attributed to high comprehension of the study questions. However, individuals who had headphones and played music at low volumes and classical music showed nearly similar results to those in quite environments. The results showed a small disparity in the average number of questions answered by this sets of groups and only a 6.7% difference in score. Noise can be defined as un-wanted sounds in a place. However, music may not be regarded as noise to may school of thoughts in the neurology fields. Earlier studies have exposed that reasonable volumes of background music ease performance in activities that encompass high levels of concentration and attention (Singleton, 2012). For instance, rock music developed performance on a signal recognition task paralleled to relaxing instrumental music (Taylor, 2013). It was discovered that during a hard visual vigilance chores, music exposure prohibited detection latencies that were obvious during no music sessions (Kilaru, 2006). On the other hand, an increase in the volumes of noise has an adverse effect on memory and concentration. From the above data, participants who were in the café had a lower concentration than those in the library. Due to the continuous interruption of what came from the moderately loud environment, the candidates had significantly low score of 60%. When the noise got louder while listening to blurred lines at high volume, the performance was even lower as depicted from the table in figure one. The students who had headphones while playing loud music had the lowest the performance levels but they consequently managed an average of 46.7% on the score. The graph shows that students in a silent room had a concentration level of 31.6% as those in a moderately noisy room had 22% , those with headphones playing music at preferred volumes had 29.4% and finally those playing loud music had 16%. Further questions were asked on how the participants felt on the type of environment they were placed in during the study. The individuals who were in the library after the study had a similar view of feeling drained at the end of the whole survey. This could be related to a suggestion made by researchers through their study where they highlighted that a decrease in ambient noise in the workplace seems to buffer the negative effects of psychosocial job stress. The participants who had headphones playing low volumes of music suggested they felt less weary from the survey and were looking forward for the questionnaire face of the survey. In conclusion, noise is a constant factor in everyday life, it is vital to understand that despite the fact that noise is a constant threat to human life however it plays a role in how the mind work in terms or recollecting ideas and also in terms of concentration in tackling mentally challenging tasks. Daniel Deigards theory on the limits of noise draws a picture on how more noise can be a destruction in performing tasks though limited or preferred noise in terms of music can be good to an individual’s mind. From the experiment done in this paper, one can concur with the theory as the results show that the less the background noise, the higher the chances of thinking clearly and recollection of information. References Holscher, Christian. (2005). Neuronal Mechanisms of Memory Formation: Concepts of Long-term Potentiation And Beyond. Cambridge Univ Pr. In Norman, D. A. (2007). Models of human memory. http://www.worldcat.org/title/models-of-human-memory/oclc/899001455 Kahana, M. J. (2012). Foundations of Human Memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. Kilaru, S. (2006). Identification of fungal multi-copper oxidase gene families: Overexpression and characterization of Coprinopsis cinerea laccases for applications in biotechnology. Göttingen: Cuvillier. Singleton, W. T. (2012). The Body at work. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press. Taylor, A. K. (2013). Encyclopedia of human memory. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood. h Larkin, M. (2001). Music tunes up memory in dementia patients. Lancet, 357, 1-3 Read More