The Effect of Background Music on Spoken Narrative Comprehension in Each Hemisphere
Erika Lucas
Co-Presenters: Erin Cervelli, Arielle Rabano
College: The College of Health Professions and Human Services
Major: Speech-Language Pathology (M.A.)
Faculty Research Mentor: Iyad Ghanim
Abstract:
In this project, we examine the effects of background music on left and right hemispheric processing of spoken narrative comprehension. Previous research examining the effects of background music on reading comprehension tasks found that fast and loud music in particular was distracting to the participants (Thompson et al., 2011). Conflicting research found no significant difference between the silent condition compared to different genres of music, suggesting that music did not impact listening comprehension (Harmon, 2009). In light of research that points to hemispheric differences in language processing (Virtue & Czarlinski, 2010), in the present study, we investigate the effect of background music on the hemispheric processing of spoken narrative comprehension. To assess this, up to 40 adults aged 18-35 will listen to pre-recorded passages from the Oral Passage Understanding Scale (OPUS; Carrow-Woolfolk & Klein, 2016) bilaterally with background music played in either the right or left ear. In one group, participants will listen to music with lyrics; in a second group, participants listen to the same music without lyrics. At the end of each recording, participants will answer open ended comprehension questions regarding the passage. Data collection is currently ongoing. We aim to conclude in March. We hypothesize that there will not be a significant effect across hemispheres. We do anticipate that music with lyrics will negatively affect listening comprehension compared to music without lyrics. This research is anticipated to inform our understanding of the hemispheric processing of spoken narratives in the presence of background music with or without lyrics. By understanding the effects of music on auditory comprehension, clinicians and educators can better serve a broad population of learners. This includes neurodivergent learners (such as those with AD(H)D or ASD), who learn differently from the neurotypical population. This knowledge allows providers to tailor treatment and instructional strategies to better accommodate those who may benefit from background music in both therapy and educational settings (Simpson, 2013), thus providing neurodivergent affirming care.