Effect of music tempo on reaction time during study: an investigation on university students

Industrial Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50275, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: kristiandwikurnia1@gmail.com

Abstract

Several studies have been conducted to reveal the impact of specific music on cognitive functions. However, the effect of music tempo of human intelligence still holds great potential for further research. The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of specific music tempos (adagietto, moderato, and assai) on the concentration levels of students at Diponegoro University during the study. This experiment uses the stroop task paradigm in a design experiment within the subject from August to September 2023. The study involved a total of 42 participants from the Industrial Engineering Department with four treatment conditions (no distraction, adagietto tempo, moderato tempo, and assai tempo). Data collection was carried out for each treatment at a 24-hour interval. Then, the result data for the three variables (accuracy, reaction time, & stroop effect) are analyzed. The results of the statistical analysis indicate a significant increase in reaction time with ρ < 0.05 (0.004 < 0.05). The post hoc test indicates a significant difference between non-music treatment and assai tempo with ρ < 0.05 (0.008 < 0.05). The tempo assai treatment resulted in higher reaction times compared to the no music treatment, with values of 772.826 ms and 665.489 ms, respectively.