Effect of Instrumental Hip-Hop Music on Engineering Courses: A Pilot Study

摘要

Music is deeply enrooted in our culture. Most people like to listen to music while driving, exercising, or studying. It has been debated if music is either a performance booster or a distractor. For decades, researchers have studied the relationship between music and performance. One of the most commonly researched attributes is the effect of background music on tasks which requires high concentration level. However, the influence of background music on engineering courses which demands high focus are researched minimally and there is hardly any literature focusing on the effects of instrumental hip-hop music in the classroom. The focus of this research study was to fill this research gap. Instrumental hip-hop music was played in the background during lectures in junior and senior level industrial engineering courses to identify its potential impact on students' performance. The design of experiment involved six random trials over a range of two semesters. The performance level of ninety students was assessed based on a Multiple-Choice Questions quiz comprised of five questions based on the lecture of the day. Based on the obtained p-value of 0.031 for this pilot study, it was concluded that instrumental hip-hop music might help enhance students' performance. Future researchers should incorporate personality traits in the design of experiment and involve students of multiple disciplines.