Date Approved

7-9-2009

Embargo Period

3-20-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in School Psychology

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Dihoff, Roberta

Subject(s)

College students--Psychology; Music--Psychological aspects

Disciplines

Educational Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the presence of tranquil sounds created augmented focus and concentration among undergraduate college students, who prefer silent learning environments. Participants were randomly selected from an undergraduate pool of students from a northeastern college in the United States. Student's focus and concentration was assessed using the Personal Emotion Survey and Personal Habits Survey. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the scores of those who prefer silent or prefer sounds in the environment to their scores on the Personal Emotional Survey. As we have found from past studies, music plays an important role in emotions, verbal abilities and educational benefits for disabled individuals. Since research is limited in the area of focus and concentration, the present study used implications from previous research to fill the gaps in past research. The results showed statistical significance within group four, in which participants who preferred sounds indicated feeling more focused while in the silent group.

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