The Effect of Music Genres (Pop & Classical) on Critical Thinking of Grade 10 Students of

Marian College.

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in Practical Research II

Presented by:
Dagupan, Kenneth Ivan
Din, Althea Luis
Pogoy, Adhyne Greane
Rabaya, Jerick Chylle
Silabay, Gift Cyrl
Sanoy, Johannes

Presented to:
Mr. Mark Anthony Diaz

Marian College
First Semester 2018-2019
The Effect of Music Genres (Pop & Classical) on Critical Thinking of Grade 10 Students of

Marian College.

Music has a great increasing influence to the world today. Toddlers, kids, teens and adults

are undeniably drawn to music.According to Oxford dictionary, music means the instrumental or

vocal sounds or both combined in such a way to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression.

They come in various forms and themes which can be used in arts, entertainment and leisure. In

earlier forms of music, it is usually supposed to be of a powerful force but today, it is just a usual

pleasure.

Music is very accessible today in many sources like radio, television and mobile

applications like Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, Soundcloud and Pandora. There is no question

why music is global epidemic because it is widespread to the whole world.

With the great effect of music today, the effect of music to teenagers nowadays is

undeniable especially when they take quizzes and examinations. Some stereotypes describes

listening to music is some type of distractions but audio therapy gives good benefits in all sorts of

aspects. For example, Oldham et al. (1995) showed that workers listening to music with stereo

headsets significantly improved their assigned work compared to workers not listening to music.

The researchers are interested in knowing the effects of having to listen to classical music

and pop music before having quizzes on the grade 10 students of Marian College.
STATEMENT OF THE STUDY

This study aims to figure out how classical and pop music affects the critical thinking of

grade 10 students of Marian College.

It specifically asks the following questions:

1. What is the average score of the students when they took the quiz without any music

beforehand?

2. What is the average score of the students when they took the quiz with classical music

beforehand?

3. What is the average score of the students when they took the quiz with pop music

beforehand?

4. Is there a significant difference in scores between listening to classical and pop music and

not listening to any music before taking the quiz?

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

According to Computer Systems Institute, (2015), Music has been used to enhance sports

performance (Brooks, 2010), improvement in behaviour and academic performance (Hallam &

Price, 1998), etc.

Music and mood are closely interrelated -- listening to a sad or happy song on the radio

can make you feel more sad or happy. However, such mood changes not only affect how you

feel, they also change your perception. For example, people will recognize happy faces if they

are feeling happy themselves.

 A new study by researcher Jacob Jolij and student Maaike Meurs of the Psychology

Department of the University of Groningen shows that music has an even more dramatic effect

on perception: even if there is nothing to see, people sometimes still see happy faces when they

are listening to happy music and sad faces when they are listening to sad music. University of

Groningen. (2011, April 27)

A 2009 study from Petr Janata at the University of California, Davis found that there is a

part of the brain that “associates music and memories when we experience emotionally salient

episodic memories that are triggered by familiar songs from our personal past.”10 In other

words, our own familiar music can reconnect people with deep, meaningful memories from

their past, like it did in Henry’s case.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Research Approval

Preparation of Logic Questionnaires

Collecting of Data

Analysing of Data
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The result will be of great benefit to the following;

 Teachers. Through this study, we would be able to share insights about how music can

improve the students’ critical thinking.

 Other Researchers. This study not only gives results but also thorough scanning of best and

numerous handpicked articles that would help the other researchers gather information.

 Students. With the results, students would be more aligned to listen to classical music and

modern pop songs for it could improve their spatial recognition and other long-term

benefits.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The study focuses and aims to differentiate the average scores of three sets of logic

questionnaires answered by the Grade 10 students of Marian College. The experiment goes by

giving a three sets of quizzes that the researchers have prepared.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

 Classical music – A type of music that ranges from earlier eras to modern covers that

feature non-electric instruments and gives of a certain sound wave that relaxes our brain.

It will be the manipulation used in the experiment.

 Binaural Beats – A specific measure of sound waves that targets a certain area of the brain

and will either activate it or send painful signals throughout the body.

 The Mozart Effect – A term coined by Alfred A. Tomatis that meant a theory that accepts

music as a stimulus that will give remedy to definite disorders both minimal and serious.

 Students – this refers to students enrolled in Marian College.

 Logic – refers to the type of questions that will be given to the respondents.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In Hargreaves and Miell’s study in 2002, it is stated that music became more general than

at any other point in olden times since its function has grown wider by the innovating years,

operative not only as an enjoyable art form, but also serving various vital psychological

functions linked in its effects. Its importance in human societies for centuries is clearly not

debatable but then again the social effects of music are not well understood.

Numerous genres of music have been pondered on as to their effects on different

variables. Classical music has been establish to have a variety of effects from an increasing

amount of purchases (Areni & Kim, 1993), affecting recollection and reasoning (Hallam,

Price & Katsarou, 2002). For example, Rausher, Shaw and Ky (1993) discovered that

listening to classical music enhanced intelligence and memory (the "Mozart Effect") but

others have been unsuccessful in imitating these results (Pietschnig, Foracek & Formann,

2010; Steele, Bass & Crook, 1999; McKelvie & Low, 2002)

Current studies show that music can influence psychological (Lin et al., 2009), behavioral

(Hallam and Price, 1998), cognitive (Furnham et al., 1999) and emotional (Cevasco, 2008)

purposes. The effects of music have been of curiosity to various groups including therapists

and psychologists.

Music has not only been restricted in treating psychological problem but also been used

to see its relation on various presentations. Music has been used to enhance sports

performance (Brooks, 2010), improvement in behavior and academic performance (Hallam

& Price, 1998), etc. Psychologists have hypothesized that music could be used to treat people
with psychological problems. Music therefore has played an important role in human society.

It has been stated that music can contribute to acquiring the linguistic skills such as reading,

writing, listening and speaking (Jalongo & Bromley, 1984; Jolly, 1975; Martin, 1983;

McCarthey, 1985).

Those possibilities relate to the issue of whether music elicits emotional responses in

listeners known as the “emotivist” position, or whether music just expresses emotions that

listeners recognize while listening to the music known as the “cognitivist” position

(Krumhansl, 1997; Schubert, 2007). In addition, fans of a particular genre of music may be

drawn to that type of music due to existing emotions or problems (Scheel & Westefeld).

Different genres of music may not affect each person in the same way.

Previous research has found that music may be capable of influencing the mood of

listeners in a positive or negative manner depending on the type of music (Krumhansl, 1997;

Scheel & Westefeld, 1999; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). In addition, people often have

different reasons for listening to music when dealing with different emotions (Stratton &

Zalanowski, 1997; Schwartz & Fouts, 2003). People may listen to a certain genre of music to

seek a more positive mood, the listener may seek understanding from music similar to their

mood, or they may listen to music they know will enhance their misery.

Researchers have recently examined how background music influences the important

cognitive processes involved in reading. Cauchard, Cane, and Weger (2012) investigated the

effects on background speech and music on the speed of the participants’ reading times via

an eye tracking methodology. Specifically, they were interested in whether music or

background speech would interrupt important comprehension processes while of reading as

indicated by eye movements.

 While music can be a distractor for some individuals during performance, it may also

provide some benefits. In an office study, Schlittmeier and Hellbruck (2009) investigated the

potential for different types of music to block outside noise and increase performance.

The term logic comes from the Greek word logos. The variety of senses

that logos possesses may suggest the difficulties to be encountered in characterizing the

nature and scope of logic. Among the partial translations of logos, there are “sentence,”

“discourse,” “reason,” “rule,” “ratio,” “account” (especially the account of the meaning of an

expression), “rational principle,” and “definition.” Not unlike this proliferation of meanings,

the subject matter of logic has been said to be the “laws of thought,” “the rules of right

reasoning,” “the principles of valid argumentation,” “the use of certain words labelled

‘logical constants’,” “truths (true propositions) based solely on the meanings of the terms

they contain,” and so on. (Britannica.com)

There are two aspects about critical thinking. Some researchers claim that critical

thinking can be generalized and some researchers suggest that critical thinking is domain-

specific. For instance, Dewey (as cited in Johnson, 2003: 59) purposed a model of reflective

thinking that represents the basis of generalized thinking skills. Instead of critical thinking,

Dewey used the term reflective thinking and described it as active, considered and careful

thinking. Reflective thinking liberated thinkers from their natural thoughtless impulses and

circumstances; he viewed the unreflective state as unnatural in that people had an inherent

sense of curiosity and tendency for order in the world. From this point of view, critical

thinking can be seen as the individuals’ thinking characteristic that enables him/her to

approach all the issues, regardless of domain, in the same way that s/he experienced. Music

education includes music listening, music making and cognitions about music that refer to
harmony, tonality, musical forms and structures. For some educators, music education can be

used not only for developing music skills, but also for developing individuals’ social skills,

problem-solving skills, cognitive skills, critical thinking dispositions and skills and academic

achievement. Bamberger (as cited in Johnson, 2003: 16) suggested that understanding music

and learning music are both acts of problem-solving through listening There are a number of

studies that done by researchers to emphasize this relationship. One of them is the scientific

study done by Zellner, (2011) which purposed to explore the relation between instrumental

music education in 8 and 11 Grades and critical thinking as assessed by the Pennsylvania

System of School Assessment. Experiment and control groups were generated as instrument

students and non-instrument students. The results indicated that the instrumental music

sample consistently outscored the non-instrumental music sample when compared to the

reading and mathematics skills of the samples.

If the context and evaluating student’s critical thinking in and about music (Field, 1997:

19). Students who are taught in a traditional, purely theoretical approach to musical problem

solving miss out on opportunities to develop critical thinking skills (Pogonowski, 1987).

Thereby, all the music lessons may not develop critical thinking skills of students. For this

reason, some precise steps must be taken in order to create an appropriate environment for

learning. There are several techniques music teachers can use to help students develop

thinking skills. Small (1987) has identified aspects of critical thinking that can be applied to

the classroom. These include: a) defining the musical problem, refers what do we want to

know? b) identifying the “point”, refers gathering knowledge for necessary decision making,

c) recognizing underlying assumptions, refers identifying the points that are taken granted, d)

detecting inconsistencies, refers recognizing inconsistencies in assumptions.

 Chapter III

Methodology

Research Design

The said research will be identified as a descriptive-quantitative type for it focuses more

on the reports and analysis of the results gathered by the researchers.

Sample of the study

The respondents will be 10th grade students of Marian College not limiting to any age,

gender, intelligent quotient that may exhibit any bias in the research. There will be 40 (Forty)

respondents in all to be trialed in three phases. The focus groups must contain students not of the

same sections and will be picked systematically, in every 5th name in the class record.

Locale of the study

The research is to be conducted at a vacant room located in the 3rd floor of the senior high

building of Marian College, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, containing sufficient amount of chairs for

the respondents and is averse to noises if possible. The researchers selected Marian College as its

locale because it will be an easy access for them and as a private institution, it is evident that most

of them students are not academically challenged and are expected to have advance learnings than

those who studies otherwise.

Research Instruments

Apparatuses are to be implemented in the study and that includes three logic questionnaires

that contains items that will challenge and test the respondents’ critical thinking and logical

reasoning. One speaker will be used as it utilizes an audio-induced brain activity that is highly

needed for the experiment. A playlist of classical works like canon in D minor from famous pieces
from well-known musicians and a modern pop mash-up will be used as well for serving as the

instrument for the said research.

Data Collection Procedure

Stage 1: Research Approval

The researchers will be making a letter that will inform the teachers and students that will

be involved in the said research. The letter will also include a direct approval of the head principal

through a signed signature and names of all teachers from the Grade 10 curriculum which will be

signed if ever the professor approves the students for participating.

Stage 2: Logic Questionnaire

To exhibit a faulty-free and pure authenticity of the results, the researchers will require

three (3) sets of logic questionnaires consisting five (5) questions each set. The questions’

difficulty will not escalate during the three phases to ensure that the researchers will gather

unbiased data.

Stage 3: Data Collecting

On the day of data gathering, the focus group should be well-seated and comfortable. Any

disturbances will be terminated if possible. The room used should not exhibit any kind of nuisance

and noises. They (the researchers) will expedite yet clarify the procedure by giving out instructions

before handing the questionnaires. In first (1st) phase, no music will be played by the time the

facilitators confirms the participants to answer the handouts to be answered in five minutes. In

second (2nd) phase, the researchers will let the respondents listen to the classical piece Cannon in

D for five (5) minutes before handing out the second set of questionnaires to be answered for

another five minutes. In the third (3rd) phase, the respondents are to be asked to listen to a modern
pop mash up for five (5) minutes before answering the last set of questionnaires for another five

(5) minutes.

Stage 4: Data Analysis

After the activity done to the respondents, each of the questionnaires answered will be

checked by the researchers thoroughly and tallied accordingly. After the accumulation of

information, the data is to be designed again with applied statistics such as finding the average

scores so the researchers will be able to differentiate the scores from the three different sets of

questionnaires and define whether playing classical and pop music before answering handouts

improves critical thinking and logical reasoning of the respondents. After gathering of the needed

information, the data is now subject for data analysis.

Data Analysis

Chart (bar) will be observable and is present as well as equations that reflects the means of

the scores from the three (3) sets of questionnaires. Bar graphs will be more often as it shows the

differences between the scores of the three phases. A clear explanation will match each visual tool

to further the understanding on how the data complements the objectives and conclusion of the

said research.

In getting the average number of scores of each phase, the formula will be used:
(∑𝑥)
𝑥̅ =
𝑛

Let

x̄ be the total average score of participants,

∑x= Sum of scores

n= Number of respondents
 To determine the total mean of a given phase or set of questionnaires, standard deviation

will be used:

[∑(𝑥 − ̅̅̅
𝑥)2
𝜎=
(𝑛 − 1)

Let

n= Number of respondents

∑= The total sum of scores

x̄= The average score

To determine the existence of relationship between the two variables, t-test will be used

with the formula:

Let

n= the number of respondents

var= variance
 Chapter IV
DATA ANALYSIS
The data that the researchers have gathered are the scores they collected from the respondents.

The scores are distributed and allocated accordingly to the following phases or the type of

questions that are given by the researchers.

There are 40 students that participated in the survey and the scores are tallied accordingly with

the order of their names and is remained confidential.

Questionnaire 1 has 6 items, Questionnaire 2 has 5 items, and Questionnaire 3 has 5 items.

Phase 1 (Without Music)

0+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0+1+0+1+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0+0+0+0+1+0+1+1+0+1+1+1+0+0+0

+0+0+1=12 total out of 240 items.

Phase 2 (Applied Classical Music)

4+2+3+4+5+4+3+3+3+3+4+3+3+3+3+3+3+2+2+3+3+3+3+2+1+3+3+3+2+3+4+1+3+4+2+3+3

+1+2+3=115 out of 200 items.

Phase 3 (Applied Pop Music)

1+1+0+3+1+2+3+3+3+3+3+3+2+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+2+2+2+2+3+4+3+2+2+3

+1+2+4=102 out of 200 items.5

Table 1: The total average score of students taking each set of questionnaires.
 Total Average Scores of Students
6
3.875
4
2.55
2
0.3
0
Phase 1 (6 items) Phase 2 (5 items) Phase 3 (5 items)

Total Average Score

In finding the average scores of the students, we used the formula:

(∑𝑥)
𝑥̅ =
𝑛

Let

x̄ be the total average score of participants,

∑x= Sum of scores

n= Number of respondents
Phase 1 (No music): Phase 2 (Classical music): Phase 3 (Pop music):
(∑𝑥) (∑𝑥) (∑𝑥)
𝑥̅ = 𝑥̅ = 𝑥̅ =
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
102
12 115 𝑥̅ =
𝑥̅ = 𝑥̅ = 40
40 40
𝑥̅ = 2.55
𝑥̅ = 0.3 𝑥̅ = 3.875

Next deductions will include finding the standard deviation which will use the following

formula:

[∑(𝑥 − ̅̅̅
𝑥)2
𝜎=
(𝑛 − 1)

Let

n= Number of respondents
 ∑= the total sum of scores

x̄= the average score

Phase 1: 253.6
𝜎=
39
[∑(12 − 0.3)2
𝜎= 𝜎 2 = 1.9
(40 − 1)

[(11.7)2
𝜎=
(40 − 1)

136.89
𝜎=
39

3.51
𝜎=
39

𝜎 2 = 1.9

Phase 2:

[∑(115 − 3.875)2
𝜎=
(40 − 1)

[(11.125)2
𝜎=
(39)

2, 348.8
𝜎=
39
316.64
𝜎=
39

𝜎 2 = 17.8

Phase 3:

[∑(102 − 2.55)2
𝜎=
(40 − 1)

[(99.45)2
𝜎=
(40 − 1)

9890.3
𝜎=
39
 Next deductions would implement the t-value to determine the existence of relationship

between the two variables, t-test will be used with the formula:

𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 1 − 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛2
𝑇−𝑣 =
√(𝑛 − 1)𝑥 𝑣𝑎𝑟12 + (𝑛2 − 1)𝑥 𝑣𝑎𝑟22 𝑥 1 1
√ 𝑥
𝑛1 + 𝑛2 − 2 𝑛1 𝑛2

Phase 1 & 2:
0.3 − 3.875
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√(40 − 1)(1.9)2 + (40 − 1)𝑣𝑎𝑟(17.8)2 1 1
√ .
40 + 40 − 2 40 40

−3.575
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√(39)(3.61) + (39)(316.84)
40 + 38 √0.025𝑥0.025

−3.575
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√140.79 + 12, 356
78 √0.05

−3.575 Cum prob. = t.975 (0.05) (Two-tails)

𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√12, 497. 55
0.22 T= 2.021
78

−3.575
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√160.225
0.22

3.575
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√12.66)
0.22

3.575 Therefore, the researchers accept the null hypothesis

𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
2.79 and conclude that there is no relation between the two
variables.
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 = −1.28
The data above has shown that the difference between the relation of having no music before

taking a test and listening to classical music before taking a test is -1.28 only. Therefore as

shown in the graph, not listening to music before taking a quiz and listening to classical music

beforehand doesn’t have enough evidence to prove that there is a relation between the two

phases.

Phase 1&3:

0.3 − 2.55
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√(40 − 1)(1.9)2 + (40 − 1)𝑣𝑎𝑟(15.9)2 1 1
√ .
40 + 40 − 2 40 40

−2.25
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√(39)(3.61) + (39)𝑣𝑎𝑟(252.81)
40 + 38 √0.025 𝑥 0.025

−2.25
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√(140.79) + (9, 859. 59
78 √0.05

−2.25 Cum prob. = t.975 (0.05) (Two-tails)

𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√(10,000.38) T= 2.021
0.22
78

−2.25
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
√128.21
0.22

−2.25
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 =
28.2

−2.25
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 = Therefore, the researchers accept the null hypothesis
5.3
and conclude that there is no relation between the two
variables.
𝑇 − 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 = −0.42
The data above has shown that the difference between the relation of having no music before

taking a test and listening to pop music before a test is -0.42. Therefore as shown in the graph,

not listening to music before taking a quiz and listening to pop music beforehand doesn’t have

enough evidence to prove that there is a relation between the two phases.
 CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary

This study aims to figure out classical and pop music affects the critical thinking of grade

10 students of Marian College. The respondents are picked systematically by selecting every 5 th

name in their class’ list. The survey took place in one of the vacant rooms in the 3 rd floor of the

senior high building and is given 3 sets of questionnaires to answer and was limited to 5 mins.

each set before moving on to another phase. No music was utilize during the first phase, while

classical music was used during the second phase and lastly, pop music was implemented during

the third phase.

The data was analyze thoroughly and clearly to get the objective of the study and

successfully obtain the data that would therefore conclude the differences between the said

variables.

Conclusion
After the thoroughly observation and gathering of data, the study concluded the
following:
 Students tend to have higher scores when they are listening to music before taking the test.

 Students tend to have higher scores when they are ought to listen classical music than pop

music before taking the quiz.

 Students tend to have low scores when they do not listen to any kind of music before taking

the test.
  The average score of the students when they took the quiz without any music beforehand

was 0.3 out of 6 items.

 The average score of the students when they took the quiz with classical music

beforehand is 3.9 out of 5 items

 The average score of the students when they took the quiz with pop music beforehand is

2.55 out of 5 items.

 There was not enough evidence to support that there were no significant difference in

scores between listening to classical and pop music and not listening to any music before

taking the quiz which is thoroughly discussed and mathematize using standard deviations

and t-value.

RECOMMENDATION
Related to this quantitative research, the researchers humbly recommend the following:

 Teachers.

o Teachers are recommended to implement or utilize auditory aids to improve the

student’s performance at school and induce temporary visual-spatial recognition

improvement.

 Other Researchers.

o They can use this data to get more info for their own and use it as a future

reference.

 Students.

o Through this study, students can now ensure that listening to music before taking

any test can indeed improve their well state of mind.