Author Identifier
Date of Award
2026
Keywords
Background music, individual differences, cognitive tasks, reading comprehension
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Arts and Humanities
First Supervisor
Craig Speelman
Second Supervisor
Ross Hollett
Abstract
A substantial proportion of individuals report listening to music while reading, yet literature is divided on whether it impairs or enhances comprehension. Some theoretical accounts suggest that music depletes cognitive resources, while others argue that music can improve cognitive performance by increasing arousal and improving mood. These theories describe the universal impact of listening to music but fail to account for individual differences. To address this issue, this PhD project included the measurement of key individual differences suspected to relate to comprehension performance when background music is playing. Study 1 (N = 226) employed a survey design and revealed that 54% of the sample listen to music while reading for study purposes, while 46% avoided it. Degree of engagement with music was related to the choice to listen, with those more highly engaged claiming the music is helpful for their reading. Two within-subjects experiments further tested comprehension under different musical conditions. Study 2 (N = 92) measured comprehension when participants read with high, medium and low arousal instrumental music and with no music playing, and found comprehension to be superior in the low arousal condition. Study 3 (N = 49) tested comprehension when participants read with lyrical music containing high, medium and low lyrical complexity and with no music and found no difference across conditions, challenging the viewpoint that lyrics disrupt linguistic processing. In both experimental studies, the individual differences measured did not demonstrate significant relationships with comprehension performance. However, individual outcomes when background music was present varied widely. This thesis contributes to theory by challenging capacity-based explanations of distraction. It highlights the influences of arousal as critical in whether background music is distracting. It advances existing models of cognitive control by suggesting that rather than irrelevant stimuli having a universally disruptive impact, individuals have varied abilities to compensate for distraction from music.
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 13th June 2027
Recommended Citation
Cooke, L. (2026). The cognitive impact of background music on reading comprehension: Investigating effects of music type and individual differences. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/e0zw-nm94