THE EFFECTS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC ON MEMORY RETENTION Jackie Aleman, Hira Billoo, Ray Castro, Karen Nunez

Abstract In this study, we conducted an experiment on the correlation between classical music and memory retention

Background Is there a way to facilitate memory? Previous literature: ◦ The Mozart Effect ◦ Rauscher and Shaw study We expected to find a correlation between music and memory retention 3

Hypothesis Classical music has a positive effect on memory retention

Participants 19 CSUN students 4 males and 15 females Ages ranged from ◦ M=21.631, SD=

Demographics 53% Hispanics 11% Asian 5% Pacific Islander 5% East Indian 5% African American 16% Middle Eastern 5% Caucasian 6

Materials Two PowerPoint Presentations (One with music and the other without) 20 randomly assigned words Fill in the blank sheets provided 7

Procedure Presented with Music or No Music PowerPoint for 90 seconds Fill in the blank provided to recall words 8

Results Table Table 1 Means and Standard Deviation Scores for the Classical Music and No Music Conditions. 9

Results Independent samples t-test was conducted to test the main hypothesis. There was no significant difference between the music and no music conditions, t (17)=-.03, p >.05, against our hypothesis. 10

Results Additional independent samples t-test was conducted to explore gender differences in memory recall between males (N = 4) and females (N = 15). 11

Results Table 2 Means and Standard Deviation Scores for gender differences in memory recall test. 12

Results Although the mean difference between the two groups was not statistically significant, t (17)=.023, p <.05, there was a tendency that males (M = 9.75) outperformed females (M =7.13) on the memory test. 13

Discussion Hypothesis is rejected Music condition and no music condition show no significant difference Gender differences in certain words recalled 14

Implications In terms of word recall, the effectiveness of music on memory is insignificant Further research and experiment advantages 15

Limitations Not a true experiment because lacks random assignment Small N size Not an even distribution of gender No condition to prevent repetition of words 16