Eficacia de la escucha musical en el rendimiento matemático

Efficacy of music listening on mathematical performance

Abstract

Although numerous studies have shown that background music improves the academic performance of adolescents, few have contrasted results based on their musical preferences or Mozart's compositions. A total of 185 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 years old from the 1st to 4th grades of Compulsory Secondary Education participated in the study (MS = 13.63; SD = 1.26), 52.4% of whom were girls. The groups were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: listening to their musical preference or to Mozart's compositions while performing a mathematical test. The results show that boys perform significantly better in mathematics than girls. Also, there was a decrease in the time taken to perform mathematical tasks and the lower-performing students benefited more from music. Likewise, in the group that listened to their musical preference, there was a greater improvement in the girls and in contrast, in the group that listened to Mozart's music, this was manifested in the boys. It is considered that the optimization of arousal levels has improved attentional focus, which in turn has increased processing speed, increasing efficiency in selecting information and finding more accurate answers, thus improving mathematical performance. Likewise, special attention is given to the fact that listening to music while performing mathematical tasks has helped students with poor mathematical performance to a greater extent. Due to its importance, this article expresses a position in favor of a greater recognition and presence of music at the curricular level in Compulsory Secondary Education.