Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find whether or not background music/other audio served as a distraction or a valuable tool to get work done faster. The hypothesis stated that hearing upbeat music or background conversations while typing will result in participants typing slower because it will act as a distraction. Furthermore, hearing soothing music (or no music at all) while typing will make the participant type faster because he/she will be more comfortable with the environment. To pursue the hypothesis, the present study required a within-participant design in order to compare both the control and experimental variables within the experiment. Each participant was recruited from the Lindenwood Participant Pool and was asked to type four five-sentence paragraphs, each in a different audio condition: Upbeat music, soothing music, men talking, and no audio. A stopwatch was used to time the amount of time it took each participant to type an individual paragraph. After the participants left the study, their times were compared to determine if and what audio served as the most distracting. The results showed that although there was a significant difference in the times between paragraphs, there were no significant differences in typing speed between the audio distractions being played. This could possibly be because each audio may not have been unique enough from each other or that there were too many variables throughout the experiment. Although there was no significant differences in times, there was a significant difference in what condition each participant found distracting. This could possibly be the basis for more research to come.

Recommended Citation

Silverberg, Ashley (2010) "The Effects of Audio Distractions on Typing Speed," Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 11, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/psych_journals/vol1/iss11/2