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The relationship between background music and memory retention is a growing area of interest, particularly among students who frequently use music during study sessions. According to the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, around 75% of students listen to music while studying. Based on a Harvard publication, understanding short-term memory is essential for study efficiency, as it is influenced by word exposure modes, auditory environments, and individual factors. This study investigates the impact of auditory environments on short-term memory retention in College of Engineering students aged 18–25. Using a within-subject factorial design combined with a Randomized Complete Block Design, the study collected 168 test results across two blocks (morning and afternoon) of fourteen participants each to evaluate the effects of background music on different word exposure methods. The analysis included two approaches: estimating the percentage of words recalled across six memory tests - combinations of writing, listening, and reading with and without background music - using ANOVA, Tukey tests, and Linear Regression; and predicting the impact of music presence for each scenario through Ordinary Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, and SVM. The results revealed that writing and background music significantly improve short-term memory retention, highlighting opportunities to optimize learning environments. Recommendations include incorporating these strategies into educational practices and exploring additional factors influencing short-term memory retention through further research.
College
College of Engineering
Mentor Information
Trung Le
Description
The relationship between background music and memory retention is a growing area of interest, particularly among students who frequently use music during study sessions. According to the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, around 75% of students listen to music while studying. Based on a Harvard publication, understanding short-term memory is essential for study efficiency, as it is influenced by word exposure modes, auditory environments, and individual factors. This study investigates the impact of auditory environments on short-term memory retention in College of Engineering students aged 18–25. Using a within-subject factorial design combined with a Randomized Complete Block Design, the study collected 168 test results across two blocks (morning and afternoon) of fourteen participants each to evaluate the effects of background music on different word exposure methods. The analysis included two approaches: estimating the percentage of words recalled across six memory tests - combinations of writing, listening, and reading with and without background music - using ANOVA, Tukey tests, and Linear Regression; and predicting the impact of music presence for each scenario through Ordinary Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, and SVM. The results revealed that writing and background music significantly improve short-term memory retention, highlighting opportunities to optimize learning environments. Recommendations include incorporating these strategies into educational practices and exploring additional factors influencing short-term memory retention through further research.
Research Presentation - Impact of Background Music in Information Retention Techniques on Short-Term Memory in Engineering Students - Ana Carolina Rezende Neves, Beatriz Primo e Silva, Eduardo Barbosa Sanchez.pdf (549 kB)
Impact of Background Music in Information Retention Techniques on Short-Term Memory in Engineering Students
The relationship between background music and memory retention is a growing area of interest, particularly among students who frequently use music during study sessions. According to the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, around 75% of students listen to music while studying. Based on a Harvard publication, understanding short-term memory is essential for study efficiency, as it is influenced by word exposure modes, auditory environments, and individual factors. This study investigates the impact of auditory environments on short-term memory retention in College of Engineering students aged 18–25. Using a within-subject factorial design combined with a Randomized Complete Block Design, the study collected 168 test results across two blocks (morning and afternoon) of fourteen participants each to evaluate the effects of background music on different word exposure methods. The analysis included two approaches: estimating the percentage of words recalled across six memory tests - combinations of writing, listening, and reading with and without background music - using ANOVA, Tukey tests, and Linear Regression; and predicting the impact of music presence for each scenario through Ordinary Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, and SVM. The results revealed that writing and background music significantly improve short-term memory retention, highlighting opportunities to optimize learning environments. Recommendations include incorporating these strategies into educational practices and exploring additional factors influencing short-term memory retention through further research.
