![]() ![]() ![]() Attentional lapses have been found to be underpinned by the locus coeruleus–norepinephrine system (LC–NE Cohen, Aston-Jones, & Gilzenrat, 2004), a neuromodulatory nucleus in the brain stem that projects norepinephrine to the neocortex and mediates effects of arousal (Berridge & Waterhouse, 2003). Research has focused on background music and sustained attention for decades (e.g., Davies, Lang, & Shackleton, 1973) but findings are contradictory, with some studies suggesting a positive influence of the music (e.g., Davies et al., 1973 Corhan & Gounard, 1976 Fontaine & Schwalm, 1979 Turner, Fernandez, & Nelson, 1996 Ünal, Waard de, Epstude, & Steg, 2013) but others suggesting the opposite (e.g., Brodsky & Slor, 2013 Febriandirza, Wu, Ming, Hu, & Zhang, 2017 North & Hargreaves, 1999 Shih, Huang, & Chiang, 2012).Įven though sustained attention is crucial for successful performance (Robertson & O’Connell, 2010), sustaining focus on task-relevant information over an extended time period is demanding, leading to time-on-task effects and attentional lapses (Robertson, Manly, Andrade, Baddeley, & Yiend, 1997 Unsworth & Robison, 2016). These findings show for the first time that preferred background music can enhance task-focused attentional states on a low-demanding sustained-attention task and are compatible with arousal mediating the relationship between background music and task-performance.Īlthough many people listen to background music during tasks that require sustained attention, there is still no consensus about its effect on performance (for reviews, see Kämpfe, Sedlmeier, & Renkewitz, 2011 Küssner 2017). Task-focus states were linked to shorter RTs than mind-wandering or external distraction states however, background music did not reduce RT or variability of RT significantly compared to silence. Results indicated that background music increased the proportion of task-focus states by decreasing mind-wandering states but did not affect external distraction states. We collected subjective reports of attentional state (specifically mind-wandering, task-focus and external distraction states) as well as reaction time (RT) measures of performance. ![]() Forty students completed a variation of the Psychomotor Vigilance Task-that has long been used to measure sustained attention-in silence and with their self-selected or preferred music in the background. The present study examined performance on a sustained-attention task and explored the effect of background music on the prevalence of different attentional states, founded on the non-linear relationship between arousal and performance. ![]() Although many people listen to music while performing tasks that require sustained attention, the literature is inconclusive about its effects. ![]()
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