Influence of Music during Exercise
Introduction
The influence of music of athletic performance has been an enduring debate since the first publication on the influence of music n sports performance. The debate on the influence of music on sports performance came to even sharper focus after the organizers of the New York Marathon banned music in the 2007 event. This action was met with resistance by the participants, most of which flouted the ban at the risk of disqualification. This and other similar actions beg the question as to what role music plays in sports performance. Scholars such as Karageorghis & Terry (1997, p.6) have argued that even though the effect on performance that is attributable to music is small, it is largely significant.
During training and exercise, music is argued to provide accompaniment. Through scientific inquiry, scholars have found five significant ways in which music influences performance. These are dissociation, synchronization, attainment of flow, arousal regulation and acquisition of motor skills. Based on this context, this experiment was designed to determine the effect of music on performance. The working null hypothesis is that music has not significant effect on performance. The working alternative hypothesis is that music has a significant effect on the performance.
Results
Since F (1.293346257) is smaller than F critical one-tail (2.168251601) as shown in Table 1, then the null hypothesis that there is no significant variance between the values for performance pre-intervention and post-intervention for the experimental group is rejected. This shows that there was significant variance in the performances.
Since t Stat (-5.542168829) is smaller than - t Critical two-tail (-2.026192447) then the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the performance post-intervention is rejected. This means that there was a significant difference in performance of the experimental group after the intervention.
Since F (1.564594658) is smaller than F Critical one-tail (2.168251601) as shown in Table 3 then the null hypothesis that there is no significant variance in the performance of the control groups is accepted. This means that the variances in the performances of the control group are equal.
Since tStat (0.63626764) is bigger than t Critical two-tail (2.024394147) as shown in Table 4, then the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the in the performances of the control group is accepted. This means that the performances of the control group did not differ significantly prior and after the intervention.
Since F (1.206169109) is smaller than the F Critical one-tail (2.168251601) as shown in Table 5, then the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the variance of the values in the control and experimental group is accepted. This means that there are equal variances between the two groups.
Since tStat (-5.628448588) is smaller than - t Critical two-tail (-2.024394147) as show in Table 6, then the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in performance between the control group and the experimental group is rejected.
Discussion
The results of the experiment show that there is a significant difference in the performance between the experimental and control group. These findings show that music as an intervention during exercise has an effect on the performance of the individual. These findings are consistent with those of Karageorghis & Priest (2008). The scholars argue that the significant increase in performance that is attributed to music is because the result of five mechanisms. One of the mechanisms is dissociation, especially in submaximal exercises where the presence of music can help the individual focus his attention and divert the mind from the feeling of fatigue. Bishop, Karageorhis, & Loizou (2007, p.592) found that through dissociation, music suppresses negative moods such as depression, anger and tension while accentuating positive moods such as happiness and vigor.
The other mechanism is arousal regulation where music helps calm an individual down in readiness for or during exercise routines. Music also enhances performance through synchronization. A study by Bacon, Myers, & Karageorghis (2008) found that individuals who cycled in synchrony to music used less oxygen by 7% compared to those cycling in an environment where the background music was asynchronous. The increase in performance that was witnessed in the experimental group post-intervention signifies the effect that music has on one’s performance through some of the mechanisms discussed above.
The experimental approach used in this exercise had some merits. For instance, a control group was used in order to put the effect of the intervention to better perspective. However, one of the demerits is that the experiment assessed the effect of music in general and not particular types of music. Given another chance to design the protocol, the experiment would measure the effect of various types of music on individual performance. This is because different types of music have different attributes which affect the individual differently. It is worthwhile to determine the effect that the different types of music have on performance during an exercise routine. Additionally, the operational definition of performance in the experiment would feature various aspects so as to test more specific hypothesis.
References
Bacon, C., Myers, T., & Karageorghis, C. I. (2008). Effect of movement-music synchrony and tempo on exercise oxygen consumption. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Bishop, D. T., Karageorghis, C. I., & Loizou, G. (2007). A grounded theory of young tennis players’ use of music to manipulate emotional state. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 29, 584–607.
Karageorghis, C. and Priest, D. (2008). Music in sport and exercise: An update on research and application. The Sport Journal. Retrieved from http://thesportjournal.org/article/music- sport-and-exercise-update-research-and-application/
Karageorghis, C. I., & Terry, P. C. (1997). The psychophysical effects of music in sport and exercise: A review. Journal of Sport Behavior, 20, 54–68.
