effects of music and color on memory

Running head: EFFECTS OF MUSIC AND COLOR ON MEMORY

Effects of Music and Color on Memory and

Evaluation of Influence Music and Color has on Memory

Terence Titus Chia Song An

James Cook University

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EFFECTS OF MUSIC AND COLOR ON MEMORY

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the effects of music and color on memory recall. Research

supports that music and color can increase arousal level; increase in arousal level can

improve memory performance (Ramey, Rolnick, Smith, Weng, Li, & Lokuta, 2012). There

are three hypotheses proposed for this study – chartreuse color is more arousing which would

lead to better memory recall, classical music is more arousing which also would lead to better

memory recall and lastly, participants with chartreuse and music conditions would score the

highest in memory recall. In this experiment, classical music and chartreuse font color is used

to induce arousal. The independent variable (IV) of color was operationalized as the font

color of words: chartreuse and black. In addition, the second IV of music was operationalized

as the presence of music; silence versus classical music. The dependent variable (DV) of

memory recall was operationalized as the total number of correct words recalled. Participants

were given a set of 15 seven-letter non-words, with a minute to memorize and another minute

to recall the words. Analysis showed that there was no significant result which indicates that

the hypotheses are not true. Despite certain shortcomings of this experiment, future research

and improvements could deem this significant.

Keywords: memory recall, arousal level, effects of music, effects of color

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Effects of Music and Color on Memory and

Evaluation of influence Music and Color has on Memory

Advancement in technology has led to ground breaking inventions and discoveries; a

new era of color technology for electronic devices such as televisions, mobile phones and

even on the internet (Kang, 1997). Another research by Birren (1950) proved that color

increases an individual’s arousal; warm color causes higher arousal elevation compared to

cool colors. Color consists of three different qualities; hue, value and chroma. Hue refers to

the color itself, value describes the lightness or darkness of the color and chroma is the

measure of the intensity of the color (Guilford, 1934). Research by Myers (2006) indicated

that color causes physiological arousal, in turn leading to better memory performance.

Music is a great influence in our daily lives; whenever we drive, work or even sleep,

we listen to music of our choice. Research by Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) reported

elevated cognitive abilities for participants who listened to Mozart compared to participants

in silent conditions. The finding by Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) was known as ‘Mozart

effect’; the effect was found to last 10-15 minutes. Research indicated that the ‘Mozart

effect” can be explained an an artifact of arousal (Chabris, Steele, Dalla Bella, Peretz,

Dunlop, Dawe, Humphrey, Shannon, Kirby, Olmstead, & Rauscher, 1999). Even though the

elevation of cognitive abilities can be explained by the level of arousal, what amount of

arousal is needed for better cognitive performance? A study by Nantais and Schellenberg

(1999) indicated that optimal levels of arousal have a significant effect on cognitive

performance.

This study seeks to investigate the influence of two factors, music and color, on one’s

memory. Hypothetically, this experiment proposes three scenarios. Firstly, chartreuse colored

font is more arousing which would lead to greater word recall. Secondly, participants in the

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music condition would score higher in word recall. Lastly, participants given both the music

condition and chartreuse colored font would score the highest in word recall.

Method

Design

This experiment follows a 2 x 2 factorial design. The independent variable (IV) of

color as an arousing agent was operationalized as the font color of words; chartreuse and

black. The second IV of music also as an arousing agent was operationalized as the presence

of music; silence versus classical music. The dependent variable (DV) of memory recall was

operationalized as the total number of correct words recalled. The experiment was conducted

over a span of two weeks; first week was the silent condition and second was the music

condition. In the second week, the set of words were switched between the groups to prevent

any prior exposure which might hinder the true results of the experiment.

Participants

19 participants (6 males, 13 females aged 19 – 23 years; M = 21.26, SD = 1.56) were

used selected from a second-year Psychology class in using convenient sampling, as seen in

Appendix A Figure A1. The average age of male participants was (M = 22.67, SD = 0.21) and

the average age of female participants was (M = 20.62, SD = 0.40), as seen in Figure A2.

Materials

2 different sets of 15 seven-letter non-words were created, shown in Appendix B. The

words were printed onto slips of paper in either chartreuse font color (Set A) or black font

color (Set B). The words were printed in font face Times New Roman and bold font size 12.

Answer sheets were provided for the participants to write down their demographics and

words recalled.

Procedure

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Demographic information such as age and gender was obtained. Participants did not

declare any major mental handicap in memory. Participants were divided into two groups;

chartreuse (Set A) and black (Set B). In order to test for memory recall, participants were

given a set of 15 non-words, differing in color. In the first week, participants were given the

memory recall task in silent condition. They were given one minute to memorize and the list

of words was then collected back. Participants were given one minute to recall and write

down as many words as they can. The answer sheets were then collected back by the

experimenters.

In the second week, subjects who had Set A would take on Set B and vice versa. This

is to prevent any prior exposure to the same list of non-words which might hinder the true

results of this experiment. Participants were given one minute to memorize and classical

music was played throughout the memorizing. However, when they were given another

minute to recall as many words, the music was removed. The answer sheets were then

collected back by the experimenters. For both condition, words that were misspelled were

omitted from the results.

Results

An analysis of color with number of correct words recalled was generated;

participants with black colored font [M = 3.18, SD = 1.185, 95% CIs (2.57, 3.79)] scored

slightly higher than participants with the chartreuse colored font [M = 2.50, SD = 1.20, 95%

CIs (1.90, 3.10)] in Appendix C.

Analysis of music with number of correct words recalled was generated; participants

in silent condition [M = 2.89, SD = 1.37, 95% CIs (2.23, 3.56)] scored slightly higher than

participants in the music [M = 2.75, SD = 1.065, 95% CIs (2.18, 3.32) in Appendix D.

According to our hypotheses; 1 – Chartreuse color increases arousal levels which

increases word recall, 2 – presence of classical music increases arousal levels which increases

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word recall and 3 – participants with chartreuse color and music condition recall words

better. A priori was performed to prove the hypotheses. According to Planned Contrast, there

is no significant difference of color on word recall, [t(33) = 1.67, p = .103] as seen in

Appendix E. This proves that hypothesis 1 is not true; participants with chartreuse condition

did not recall words significantly better than those with black condition.

According to Planned Contrast, there was no significant difference in music on word

recall, [t(33) = .344, p = .733] shown in Appendix F. This shows that hypothesis 2 is not true;

participants with music condition did not recall words significantly better than those in silent

condition.

Lastly, Omnibus was conducted to determine the interaction of font color, music and

word recall. There was no significant interaction of color, music and word recall, [F(1, 31) =

.004, p = .949] as seen in Appendix G. This shows that hypothesis 3 is not true; participants

with chartreuse and music condition did not recall words significantly better than the rest.

Discussion

Research by Baddeley, Thomson and Buchanan (1975) indicated that when an

individual attempts to memorize letters or numbers, they utilize 3 different components. It is

called Baddeley’s working memory model, comprising the phonological loop, visuospatial

sketch pad and the central executive (Goldstein, 2011). Firstly, the phonological loop holds

verbal and auditory information and it consists of 2 separate segments – the phonological

store which holds information for seconds, and the articulatory rehearsal process which

rehearse to keep information from decaying. Secondly, the visuospatial sketch pad holds

visual and spatial information which involves navigating. Lastly, the central executive is

responsible for dividing attention between the two different tasks. Baddeley’s working

memory model can be used to explain what processes are involved during the experiment.

During the experiment, participants utilized their visuospatial sketch pad upon seeing the

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different sets of non-words. They then attempt to memorize using their articulatory rehearsal

process to hold and keep as much information from decaying. During this process, the central

executive plays an important role; it divides the attention needed for the different processes.

Other than the processes that occur within the brain, there are important parts of the

brain that are involved in memory. The different parts of the brain responsible for holding

memory are the frontal lobe, prefrontal cortex, amygdala and the hippocampus (Goldstein,

2011). Another research indicated that arousal increases the activation of sympathetic

nervous system, resulting in better memory performance (Ramey, Rolnick, Smith, Weng, Li,

& Lokuta, 2012).

Based on the results as shown above, results were insignificant for color condition. A

possible explanation could be that the duration of exposure to stimulus, in this case the

colored font, was too short. A study by Valdez and Mehrabian (1994) that explores the

arousal levels of different colors found that chartreuse, a mixture of green and yellow,

stimulates the highest level of arousal. Even though research has shown that chartreuse is

very arousing, the duration of exposure is critical as well. Nantais and Schellenberg (1999)

indicated that optimal levels of arousal have a significant effect on memory performance. For

this experiment, participants were exposed to the stimulus for merely 1 minute. This could

indicate that the participants’ arousal levels were not in the optimal range or there was no

significant increase in arousal for any significant results. Another possible explanation could

be that the components of color were not optimal, namely the hue, value and chroma. By

adjusting the hue, value and chroma properly, one might obtain a more arousing color.

The above result also indicates that there was no significant difference in memory

recall for music condition. A possible explanation could be that the music played was a mix

of slow and fast tempo classical music. Extensive research by Dillman Carpentier and Potter

(2007) indicated that tempo plays a critical role when it comes to arousal. Dillam Carpentier

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and Potter (2007) showed that the presence of fast tempo classical music increases the

activation of sympathetic nervous system. Increase in activation of sympathetic nervous

system is found to increase memory performance (Ramey et al., 2012). The study showed

that fast tempo classical music had a significant effect on arousal. This is due to the

expectancy of participants; most of the population would expect classical music to be slow

and perhaps boring. When fast tempo classical music is played, arousal levels are elevated as

it was not expected. However, there are limitations to this explanation, as participants who

listen to classical music or have large amounts of exposure may not generate the same results.

The duration of exposure to music could be too short to have any significant increase in

arousal, which in turn has no significant effect on memory performance.

Conclusion

Based on previous research, there was a significant difference in results for memory;

between colors as well as music conditions. However, our experiment obtained insignificant

results. It appears that the color chartreuse is no more arousing than black. There was an

insignificant difference in memory recall for music condition. It appears that music condition

is no more arousing than silent condition. Even though results were insignificant, there are

many areas for improvement. Perhaps with amendments and improvements, results could be

more significant. Future research and detailed analyses are strongly recommended.

Limitations

This study has a number of limitations – problems with encoding and retrieval,

duration of exposure to stimulus, effect size and operationalization of arousal. For this

experiment, music was played during encoding. However, it was removed during retrieval.

This could cause an imbalanced level of arousal between encoding and retrieval, which might

affect memory performance. The duration of exposure of stimulus was mentioned earlier; the

amount of time an individual was exposed to music and colored font was too brief. This

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could hinder participants from reaching optimal levels of arousal known to have significant

effect on memory performance (Schellenberg, 2005). In addition, the sample size for this

experiment is too small to detect any significant results. Lastly, arousal was not defined and

operationalized.

Future Directions

Music should be played throughout encoding and retrieval to ensure that arousal is

constant throughout. This is also to control extraneous variables that could affect the

measurement of how music elevates arousal, which in turn increases memory performance.

The duration of exposure to music and colored font should be researched to obtain the

optimal duration. A larger sample size is needed to detect any significant results as well.

Lastly, arousal can be operationalized as physical arousal. It can be measured by skin

conductance response (SCR); this detects arousal when there is a rapid rise in skin

conductance over one-three seconds. A study by Ramey et al. (2012) showed that increase in

arousal increases the activation of sympathetic nervous system, which improves memory

performance.

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References

Birren, F. (1950). Color psychology and color therapy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Chabris, C. F., Steele, K. M., Dalla Bella, S., Peretz, I., Dunlop, T., Dawe, L. A., Humphrey,

G. K., Shannon, R. A., Kirby, J. L. Jr., Olmstead, C. G., & Rauscher, F. H. (1999).

Prelude or requiem for the ‘Mozart Effect’? Nature, 400, 826–828.

Goldstein, E. B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday

experience. (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Guilford, J. P. (1934). The affective value of color as a function of hue, tint, and chroma.

Journal of Experimental Psychology, 17(3), 342.

Kang, H. R. (1997). Color technology for electronic imaging devices. Washington, DC: The

International Society for Optical Engineering.

Myers, D. G. (2006). Psychology. (8th ed.). New York, NY: Worth.

Nantais, K. M., & Schellenberg, E. G. (1999). The Mozart effect: An artifact of preference.

Psychological Science, 10, 370–373.

Ramsey, A., Rolnick, K., Smith, R., Weng, C., Li, Y., & Lokuta, A. (2012). Activation of the

human sympathetic nervous system: Effects on memory performance. Retrieved from

http://jass.neuro.wisc.edu/2012/01/Lab%20603%20Group%2010%20Final%20Submi

ssion%20Ramsey,%20Rolnick,%20Smith.pdf

Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and spatial task performance.

Nature, 365, 611.

Schellenberg, E. G. (2005). Music and cognitive abilities. American Psychological Society,

14(2), 317-320.

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Appendix A

Figure A1

Average age of participants

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Male = 0, Female = 1 19 0 1 .68 .478

Age 19 19 23 21.26 1.558

Valid N (listwise) 19

Figure A2

Average age of participants base on sex

Male = 0, Female = 1 Statistic Std. Error

Age 0 Mean 22.67 .211

95% Confidence Interval

For Mean

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

22.12

23.21

5 % Trimmed Mean 22.69

Median 23

Variance .267

Std. Deviation .516

Minimum 22

Maximum 23

Range 1

Interquatile Range 1

Skweness -.968 .845

Kurtosis -1.875 1.741

1 Mean 20.62 .401


For Mean

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

19.74

21.49


Median 21.00

Variance 2.090

Std. Deviation 1.446

Minimum 19

Maximum 23

Range 4


Skweness .413 .616

Kurtosis -.898 1.191

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Appendix B

Lists of 15 seven-letter non-words

Set A Set B

Bapbosf Tirchra

Oxalain Uetonid

Wlevivy Caszcal

Quitsch Dazvisn

Twadtil Pazerly

Toridli Hogpash

Bodelat Temimov

Horazye Actiate

Phipude Zariloh

Pagrori Limidal

Cyrimop Tsavagi

Glendle Rotoack

Flitete Zuelyni

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Appendix C

Average score of participants base on color

Black = 0, Chartreuse = 1 Statistic Std. Error

Score 0 Mean 3.18 .287


For Mean

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

2.57

3.79


Median 3.00

Variance 1.404


Minimum 1

Maximum 5

Range 4


Skweness .128 .550


1 Mean 2.50 .283


For Mean

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

1.90

3.10


Median 3.00

Variance 1.441


Minimum 0

Maximum 4

Range 4


Skweness -.459 .536

Kurtosis -.8581 1.038

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Appendix D

Average score of participants base on music

No music = 0, Music = 1 Statistic Std. Error

Score 0 Mean 2.89 .314


For Mean

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

2.23

3.56


Median 3.00

Variance 1.877


Minimum 0

Maximum 5

Range 5


Skweness -.370 .524


1 Mean 2.75 .266


For Mean

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

2.18

3.32


Median 3.00

Variance 1.133


Minimum 1

Maximum 5

Range 4


Skweness .189 .564

Kurtosis .213 1.091

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Appendix E

Contrast Tests for Color Condition

Contrast

Value of

Contrast

Std. Error

t

df

Sig. (2-tailed)

Score Assume equal

variances

1 .68 .403 1.677 33 .103

Does not assume

equal variances

1 .68 .403 1.677 32.930 .103

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Appendix F

Contrast Tests for Music Condition

Contrast

Value of

Contrast

Std. Error

t

df

Sig. (2-tailed)

Score Assume equal

variances

1 .14 .421 .344 33 .733

Does not assume

equal variances

1 .14 .412 .351 32.819 .728

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Appendix G

Test of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent variable: Score

Source

Type III

df

Mean Square

F

Sig Sum of Squares

Corrected Model 4.070 a

3 1.357 .897 .454

Intercept 276.642 1 276.642 182.849 .000

Color 3.877 1 3.877 2.563 .120

Music .061 1 .061 .040 .842

Color*Music .006 1 .006 .004 .949

Error 46.902 31 1.513

Total 331.000 35

Corrected Total 50.971 34

a. R Squared = .080 (Adjusted R Squared = -.009)

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effects of music and color on memory

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