To What Extent Does Music Affect Focus When Studying

For my Research Project, I decided research “to what extent does music affect focus when studying”. The study revealed that music is not great for an effective study, unless you listen to music beforehand to instigate dopamine endorphins, meaning a happier result while studying. It also revealed that music is too distracting while studying and should only be used when it is a classical genre used to block out environmental distractions. I wondered if the same was for athletes before they competed, to develop their motivation or will it hinder their performance. I also wondered what other techniques contributed to their pre-routine.

What is Routine?

A routine is a sequence of actions regularly followed and is used regularly by an athlete’s pre-performance, to sedate nerves, and enhance performance. These routines include practical actions, for example shooting hoops before a game of basketball to trigger muscle memory and make the player practice. Self-talk is also included regularly before a game, such as telling yourself to breathe and relax and is associated with positive thinking. Imagery and visualization is extremely common, where an athlete imagines the skill turning out positively before executing the skill. Music is also another tool to enhance performance, diverting the mind and spikes internal motivation. A routine needs to be consistent to be effective and have focus to put yourself into a place where there are few external distractions.

What are the Benefits of Having a Routine Pre-Performance?

Having a specific routine that applies all the skills you need in a game can assist accuracy and muscle memory when competing. Routines are beneficial for preparing the players required physiological and cognitive performance. From researches it has been found that the players feel more confident to perform, deal effectively with stress and anxiety before and during the performance and focus attention before, during and after execution of the task.

What routines can hinder Performance?

The kind of routines that hinder an athlete’s peak performance includes low focus and little commitment. A study was designed to examine if the use of mental skills such as high confidence and the use of cooperative routines changed the end result. C. Greenleaf’s experiment results found that having a well-developed plan and a routine of high-levels of motivation and commitment among the athletes resulted in developing coping skills for dealing with distractions, unexpected occurrences, heightened concentration, high levels of self-confidence goal setting and visualization took place. Routines with low focus, low self-esteem and low commitment caused significant drops in performance.

What is Visualization/Imagery and it’s Benefits?

Visualization is when an athlete or person creates a mental image or intention of what you want to happen or feel. This can be done in two ways:

1. Internal: Seeing yourself from inside your body looking out as you are performing the sport.
2. External: Seeing yourself perform from the outside of your body.

One is not better than the other and it is said that using what is more comfortable and natural for the athlete is essential. When using visualization the aim is to make what you are picturing as real as possible by using kinesthetic (how the body feels), visual (images and pictures) and auditory (for example the roar of the crowd), thoughts and emotions. Detail is also important as the athlete needs to make their image as close to the real performance as possible, being realistic and positive. An example is when you are nervous before the performance, picture yourself being nervous and then stepping back and relaxing.

S. Schmalbruch (2015) states that the mind and body can be trained to perform the skill imagined, if the routine is repeated often. His studies have shown that visualization can result in confidence, efficiency, and effectiveness. Upon using visualization correctly, it will impact the athlete’s perspective, control, senses, and speed as he also states that this is an athlete’s most powerful tool. According to S. Schmalbruch (2015), it is not uncommon for poor performance picturing and indicates a lack of confidence with their ability to perform. His study demonstrates that you should not let it slide by, but ‘rewind’ the image until you do it correctly.

Are the any Negatives about Using Visualization?

P. Cohn’s (2018) counterargument states that visualization is just a ‘band aid’ hiding the real problem athletes are not performing to their full standards. Even athletes who have had years of experience still fall to the pressure before a game. His studies have shown that a lack of confidence and being afraid to lose or perform bad are the real reasons and that focus and composure are the keys to mental toughness. To develop an athlete’s confidence first:

1. Rely on your years of experience for confidence rather than your last play/shot. Confidence is based on years of training not on immediate performance.
2. Revealing confidence killers such as doubt, high expectation and self-critical thinking can assist in taking the steps to prevent them.
3. Take control of confidence and not leaving it to chance is beneficial (be proactive rather than reactive)
4. Know that confidence comes from within, not what other people say.

The study talks about how visualization can be negative if not done properly. Usually athletes, when visualizing, find themselves stumbling, they just restart until they picture themselves winning. Yes, it can be beneficial, but it also teaches an athlete that they have to have a perfect performance and does not teach them how to fix a situation once you do stumble. This is because in sport and fitness perfect performances are rare, so when the athlete visualizes perfect moments all the time, they miss the opportunity to practice effective recoveries from unfortunate but inevitable moments that occur in all sports and fitness.

Can Music Hinder or Benefit Performance?

Music is renowned in society and is often used to motivate an individual when performing sport. In 2007, the USA track and field, national governing body for distance running, banned the use of headphones and audio players to prevent runners from having a competitive edge. The reason it is so popular according to A. Ruani (2018) study is because:

1. It dissociates the mind from fatigue and pain as it puts the mind into ‘auto-pilot’ with minimal conscious effort towards performing.
2. Useful pre-performance with visualization and imagery as it keeps players in the zone, removing outside distractions and aids in motivation.
3. Synchronization from the music’s tempo mirrors in the body’s rhythm. This means when there is a slow song it promotes relaxation, concentration and sedates pre-performance anxiety, whereas in a fast-paced song the synced rhythm enhances activity.

Lanzillo et. Al (2001) examined the impact of pre-event music use on competitive anxiety and self-confidence and in his findings the experimental group had 3 minutes to listen to their preferred music just before competition compared to a control group with no music involved. Findings show that the experimental group reported themselves with higher self-confidence levels. Another experiment was done from Kinrade (2009), who discovered that fast paced, loud music produced faster choice reaction times, pleasant emotional states and higher arousal for tennis players compared to no music. From H. Farmer’s (2018) studies discovered that listening to inspirational music can allow an athlete’s to control their emotions and can aid in optimizing aggression and performance.

Conclusion

From the evidence found, I have reached the conclusion that pre-performance routines are essential in maximizing results and for a great performance outcome. After digging deeper, visualization is an important factor in achieving an outcome. It is also vital to visualize in a positive successful manner, from Source 7 it is found that visualization can decrease chances of success. It is also said that visualization is a significant tool in improving your overall confidence. Music is also another factor in which athletes attempt to get into the right headspace pre-game.