Reading comprehension draws on several mental processes, including attention, working memory, language skills, and the ability to connect ideas. Many students study with music playing, hoping it will help them focus, feel less stressed, or stay motivated. Research, however, paints a mixed picture. A meta-analysis by Kämpfe et al. (2011) found that music can improve emotional responses but tends to disrupt reading. This raises a key question: Does background music help people understand what they read, or does it add distractions that make comprehension harder?
Working memory and distraction
Working memory helps explain how music may affect reading. Baddeley (2000) describes it as a set of connected systems that briefly hold and work with information. One of these systems, the phonological loop, handles verbal and sound-based material, making it especially relevant to reading.
Readers often use an internal voice to make sense of written words and remember what they have read. Music - particularly songs with lyrics - can compete with that process. In a study, Salamé and Baddeley (1989) found that vocal music interfered with short-term verbal memory more than instrumental music did. In other words, the brain may have to divide its attention between the lyrics and the text. When both involve meaningful language, this competition can make it harder to understand what is being read.
Attention and cognitive load
Another explanation comes from theories of selective attention and cognitive load. Human attentional resources are limited, meaning that processing irrelevant information may reduce the resources available for comprehension.
Thompson et al. (2012) investigated how musical tempo and intensity influenced reading comprehension. Their findings indicated that fast and loud instrumental music significantly impaired comprehension compared with silence. This suggests that highly stimulating auditory environments may capture attention and interfere with semantic processing.
Furthermore, complex reading tasks require greater cognitive effort than simple texts. When readers encounter unfamiliar vocabulary, abstract concepts, or complicated arguments, additional auditory stimulation may increase their cognitive burden.
Therefore, background music is particularly likely to interfere with reading activities requiring sustained attention and deeper analytical processing.
Emotional regulation and individual differences
Although cognitive theories emphasize interference, emotional perspectives suggest that music may also produce beneficial psychological effects. Listening to enjoyable music can improve mood, reduce perceived stress, and increase motivation. These emotional changes could indirectly support learning under certain conditions.
Nevertheless, musical preference does not necessarily translate into improved comprehension. Perham and Currie (2014) examined reading performance under conditions involving preferred lyrical music, disliked lyrical music, instrumental music, and silence. Their research challenged the assumption that personally enjoyable music automatically enhances reading performance.
Individual listening habits may also influence susceptibility to distraction. Sun et al. (2024) examined 90 university students and found that lyrical background music negatively affected reading comprehension. However, students accustomed to listening to music while reading experienced less disruption than those without this habit.
These findings suggest that familiarity and personal experience may moderate musical interference, although habitual listening does not eliminate its potentially negative effects.
Attention and cognitive load
An alternative explanation is drawn from theories of selective attention and cognitive load. Human attentional resources are limited, which leaves the possibility that processing irrelevant information uses up the mental resources required for comprehension. Thompson et al. (2012) investigated how musical tempo and intensity influenced reading comprehension. Their findings indicate that fast and loud instrumental music significantly hindered comprehension when compared with silence in this study. This suggests that auditory environments of high acuity that may capture attention might be detrimental to semantic processing. Complex reading tasks demand more cognition than simple texts. When readers are confronted with unfamiliar terms, abstract concepts, or complex arguments, additional auditory stimuli may increase the cognitive load. Background music is especially likely to interfere with reading tasks requiring sustained attention and more profound analytical processing.
Ego regulation and individual differences
Although cognitive theories focus on interference, emotion-based perspectives indicate music can also create beneficial psychological phenomena. Listening to pleasant music is a way to feel better in mood, stress it, reduce felsenheit and increase motivation. This emotional shift could have a more indirect role in providing learning under certain conditions.
Musical preference is more thwarted be learning. Perham and Currie (2014) investigated three conditions of lyric music preference, not-liked lyric music, instrumental music, and silence on reading performance. They believe the legislation does not correct the belief that enjoyable music will improve performance.
Personal listening habits may shape how easily music distracts someone. In a study of 90 university students, Sun et al. (2024) found that lyrics in the background made reading comprehension worse. The effect was smaller, however, for students who often listened to music while reading.
This suggests that experience with background music may lessen its disruptive effects, but it does not necessarily prevent them altogether.
Educational implications
These results offer useful guidance for teaching and study habits. When students tackle challenging material - such as research papers or complex theories - a quiet setting may help them read more effectively.
For easier reading, soft instrumental music may be fine, especially if students find it comforting and can stay focused.
Teachers can also encourage students to check how well they actually understand and remember what they read, rather than judging only by how focused they feel. Trying the same kind of reading in silence and with music can help each student discover what works best.
Conclusion
Background music can affect reading comprehension by influencing working memory, attention, emotional regulation, and individual differences. Psychological evidence indicates that music with lyrics, and fast, loud music often hamper comprehension by contending for scarce cognitive resources. Even though music can lift one's mood, as well as motivation, this emotional benefit does not always translate into improved comprehension. By the end, silence seems to be an acceptable background for challenging academic reading, while some individuals might prefer some quiet rationale music. Future research should continue to examine music preference, cognitive ability, reading difficulty, and listening habits and how these variables shape comprehension.
Written by: PhuHM
References
Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01538-2
Kämpfe, J., Sedlmeier, P., & Renkewitz, F. (2011). The impact of background music on adult listeners: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Music, 39(4), 424–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735610376261
Perham, N., & Currie, H. (2014). Does listening to preferred music improve reading comprehension performance? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(2), 279–284. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.2994
Salamé, P., & Baddeley, A. (1989). Effects of background music on phonological short-term memory. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology: Section A, 41(1), 107–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/14640748908402355
Sun, Y., Sun, C., Li, C., Shao, X., Liu, Q., & Liu, H. (2024). Impact of background music on reading comprehension: Influence of lyrics language and study habits. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1363562. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1363562
Thompson, W. F., Schellenberg, E. G., & Letnic, A. K. (2012). Fast and loud background music disrupts reading comprehension. Psychology of Music, 40(6), 700–708. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735611400173