The Effect of Music on Perceived Stress

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music on perceived stress among college students. This topic is a popular research topic as it has been seen that students prefer listening to music as a means to relieve stress they may be experiencing, as they believe it has stress-relieving effects. This study focuses on students' scores on a stress scale survey while in silence and while listening to music.

Objective: This study aims to research mindfulness and hobbies and the benefits obtained by those who practice them in hopes of discovering if the two can be interchangeable when seeking self-help, stress reduction, and personal development.

Design and Method: This study was designed to examine/investigate the effects of music on perceived stress among college students. Using a 1x 1 experimental design, where there were 30 participants, (13 males, 17 females). The participants were given a survey to complete in order to measure their perceived stress. Half of the participants listened to '90s alternative music for 10 minutes prior to taking the stress scale, whereas the other half did not listen to music. There was a main effect found between music and perceived stress. There was a significant finding in the effects of music on perceived stress. The main research questions are: What are the effects of music on perceived stress? How does music influence factors such as academic performance among college students?

Results: There was a significant finding in the effects of music on perceived stress. Stress is important to examine among college students as it is something that most people will experience at some point and they should know ways to handle it. As for music, it has been shown that those who listened to music prior to taking the stress scale received lower stress scale scores than those who did not.

Conclusions: The results demonstrate that listening to music provides students with stress relief. The hypothesis was proven to be correct in that students who listened to music for a few minutes prior to filling out the stress scale survey received significantly lower stress scale scores compared to those who remained in silence. This shows that music has a greater influence on stress then many may think, and with stress being so prominent among students' music is a tool that should be used by many if it happens to provide relief.

Keywords: Music, Stress, Study, Performance, Experimental