The distracting effects of music on the cognitive test performance of creative and non-creative individuals

This study examined the effect of background music upon performance of creative and non-creative individuals on a reading comprehension task. In the presence of musical distraction and silence, 54 individuals (27 creative) carried out reading comprehension tasks in a repeated measures design. An interaction was predicted, such that musical distraction would have a greater negative effect on the performance of non-creative individuals compared to creative individuals. Further, it was predicted that creative individuals would be more inclined to study with music playing, and less distracted by it. No significant interactions were found although trends indicated that creative individuals performed better than did non-creative individuals in the music distraction condition. Correlations indicate that creative individuals tend to listen to more music while studying and they reported lower distraction levels. No main effect was found on performance for the mood of the participant and the perceived mood of the music. Methodological problems are discussed along with further suggestions for future research. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.