Effects of Stimulative and Sedative Music on Cognitive and Emotional Components of Anxiety

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Abstract
66 college students enrolled in a psychology class took their first examination of the semester, a multiple-choice test, under conditions of stimulative music, sedative music, or no music. One of the five following types of music was played during each section of the test for the two treatment groups: classical, jazz and blues, country-bluegrass, easy listening, and rock/rock and roll. Before and after each of the five sections of the test, subjects responded to a 5-item questionnaire designed to assess (a) worry about the test, (b) emotionality or physiological-affective arousal, (c) ability to concentrate, (d) expectancy of performance, and (e) like or dislike of the music. Stimulative music significantly increased both worry and emotionality while sedative music had no effect on anxiety relative to that of the control group. Test performance was not affected by the music.