Introduction
Ambient sounds encircle us, and they are inescapable. By attempting to avoid them, they become noise – an unpleasant sound that tends to cause disturbances (Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.). Through neuroscience research, ambient sounds have been shown to have significant effects on a listeners' internal states and productivity by subconsciously manipulating their psychological response within a given context (Demetriou, Larson and Liem, 2016).
To aid and improve productivity and task performance, it is commonplace nowadays for people to mask these unwanted sounds by playing music or other audio recordings in the background while they work (Luton, 2016). Through the continual development of mobile technologies, and more specifically, streaming services, obtaining and playing these background audio recordings is incredibly easy. This practice tends to be most popular amongst the younger, media multitasking generations, students in particular. Media multitasking is defined as "the act of engaging with discrete tasks or multiple streams of media from two or more mediums, typically electronic devices" (Luton, 2016, p.1). Through various research studies, this behaviour of media multitasking has been discovered to negatively impact one's ability to maintain attention and avoid distractions (Uncapher and Wagner, 2017). While there is currently a large amount of existing research on the effects of music, noise and nature-based sounds on task performance in adults, there is little research on how ambient sounds, such as music, effect task performance and productivity of media multitasking, Generation Z students.
This paper therefore aims to answer the question: how can different types of ambient sounds be used as a tool to aid a Generation Z student's productivity when carrying out specific cognitive tasks? This research will undertake both primary and secondary research with the aim of discovering how stimulative and sedative music, low and high acoustic variation nature-based sounds and silence affect a students' mood, flow state, and consequently their task performance while carrying out these tasks.
Literature review
The literature review within this research paper aims to discover and examine previous research which has been carried out relating to this question, with the ultimate intention of gaining a greater understanding of the topic as a whole (Thomas, 2013). In this chapter, the researched material will be analysed thematically and split into three key themes: music; nature-based sounds; and silence. The music theme will investigate how both stimulative and sedative types of music affect cognitive performance. The nature-based sounds theme will examine the differences between listening to both low and high acoustic variation nature-based sounds, and how both types affect task performance. The silence theme will explore how the lack of ambient sounds can affect task performance and productivity. The three themes will then be split even further into sub-themes exploring the notions of flow state and mood, then how these both link to task performance and productivity. For this research proposal, the music theme will be briefly explored.
Since 1789 (Musictherapy.org, n.d.), music has been a critical asset within therapy practices to help address any "physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals" (Musictherapy.org, n.d., p.1). There have been numerous amounts of studies that have proved that listening to music can reduce stress and tension, while also providing an effective anxiolytic treatment (Knight and Rickard, 2001). As a direct result of this, the mood is lifted, and cognitive arousal is increased, thus supposedly leading to improved task performance. Typically, these studies have been carried out by using different genres of music as the variable factor, and the results remain inconsistent.
As an alternative to different genres, music can also be classified into two different forms; stimulative and sedative. Stimulative music is typically characterised by assertive and buoyant features such as clear and fast tempos, greater dynamic changes, greater rhythmic changes and defined changes in pitch. This form of music often leads the listener's body to react in ways such as clapping, foot tapping, and dancing (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2011). Contrarily, sedative music is characterised by a slow tempo with smooth, flowing melodies and fewer dynamic, rhythmic and pitch changes, and it tends to give the listener a sense of ataraxia. (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2011).
Demetriou, Larson and Liem (2016), in their article, argue that music can produce flow states in listeners. A flow state is defined as an "optimal state of consciousness, a peak state where we both feel our best and perform our best" (Kotler, 2014, p.VIII). It is a desirable internal state where the person is completely involved in the task at hand, and each step of it is carried out without any conscious thought. Upon completion of the task, when out of the flow state, people tend to feel intrinsically rewarded and that time has passed quicker (Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi, 2009). It is thought that the use of acoustic stimuli, and the effect thereof on the brain, can lead to greater cognitive arousal, thus leading to an optimal internal state. This cognitive arousal is directly linked to mood as it is said that "the dopaminergic pathway, which is involved in the experience of pleasure, is posited to be active during flow states" (Demetriou, Larson and Liem, 2016, p.295). It is later suggested that, depending on the task at hand, both sedative and stimulative music could be used to enter a flow state and therefore yield increased productivity (Mossbridge, 2016). During tasks which require little cognitive processing, and can hence cause boredom, more stimulative music could be chosen to aid flow state induction. On the contrary, tasks which are cognitively engaging, and can therefore be challenging, may require more sedative music in order for the brain to focus primarily on the task as opposed to the music and hence remain in the flow state (Demetriou, Larson and Liem, 2016, p.295).
Thompson, Schellenberg and Letnic (2011) speculate that music preference can play a crucial part in remaining productive and in a state of flow. They suggest that familiar music could lead to distraction as it would be difficult to ignore. Conversely, they also suggest that familiar music could be deemed less distracting than unpredictable music due to it being more efficiently cognitively processed. The relationship between music and how it affects the brain is dependent mainly on the task at hand and the music played. In an article by Husain, Thompson and Schellenberg (2002), they discovered that fast, intense music impeded the listener's reading and comprehension ability. However, slower, less intense music was found to improve reading comprehension, as well as boost visuo-spatial cognition.
Mossbridge (2016, p.1) investigates "the influence of streamlined music on cognition and mood". Streamlined music is a form of sedative music that is composed and produced with the aim of improving and reducing endogenous and exogenous attention respectively, thus improving one's focus and cognitive processing abilities. The results from their tests showed that "task persistence, implicit precognition, creative thinking, and perceived focus" (Mossbridge, 2016, p.8) were all positively influenced through the use of streamlined music as opposed to everyday, regular music. The improved cognitive processing was likely due to the improved emotional states and mood experienced when individuals listened to streamlined music.
Methodology
The Methodology chapter in this paper aims to outline the research methods that will be undertaken to gain primary research for this study. Also, in this chapter, a full justification of the reasoning behind the research method choice will be provided. While secondary research is an essential aspect of any research paper, undertaking primary research is equally as important as it provides the researcher with raw, unanalysed data that relates directly to their proposed research question (Thomas, 2013). For this paper, a mixed methodology strategy will be used that will be split into four sub-strategies; a qualitative survey, a qualitative diary study, a qualitative set of interviews, and a quantitative experiment, with the aim to obtain a perspective comparison and therefore yield a broader scope of results (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie and Turner, 2007). Mixed method research approaches have been found to improve accuracy and increase validity in the findings by counteracting any weaknesses that would be found by using each method singularly, while also offering the researcher a more profound and broader understanding of the topic being researched (Denscombe, 2010).
The first research method to be undertaken will be a survey that will be sent out to Generation Z students, complete with questions regarding their personal preferences for listening to ambient sounds while carrying out cognitive tasks. Alongside this they will be asked to complete a diary study, which will seek to investigate how students report their experience of studying while listening to background ambient sounds. The second research method used will be interviews with psychology experts, particularly in the field of music therapy. By doing this, it will be possible to discover and obtain their thoughts and views on the topic, as well as any results from testing they may have previously carried out. The final research method to be undertaken will be a series of experiments taken over a few days, designed to discover which type of ambient sounds aid task performance and productivity during different cognitive tasks. Any primary research carried out must show validity and reliability. Reliable results are obtained when the procedure carried out can be repeated and yield similar results (Heale and Twycross, 2015). The design of the experiments undertaken will be primarily influenced by, and therefore similar to, the experiments used by some authors in the secondary research. Should the results be similar to those found in the secondary research, the research method and its subsequent results would be deemed reliable (Bell, 2005). The validity of a research method is determined by how accurately the findings represent what is being measured. To ensure greater validity, all possible factors in the research methods should be controlled (Shuttleworth, 2008).
Before, and while carrying out all primary research, ethics should be considered. In this instance, it is essential to obtain consent from all participants and to ensure that; they are all fully briefed; aware of their anonymity; and how the results will be used. It is also vital to ensure that, at no stage during the experiment phase, any of the participants are put in harm's way (Thomas, 2013).
STATEMENT OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This section of the paper will begin with a thorough and defined outline of the results obtained from the primary research. Any quantitative results obtained will be condensed down into graphs or tables, and any key remarks from qualitative research will be quoted. Alongside the results from the primary research, some of the results discovered in the secondary research will also be mentioned.
Following the statement of results, a discussion section will proceed. This section will thematically analyse all the findings from both the primary and secondary research undertaken. Any links between any of the research will be mentioned and discussed as well as any limitations that may have been discovered throughout the process.
TIMELINE
To aid with the project management, it is useful to apportion time to each stage of the project. By plotting the stages out on a chart, it is easier to visualise the time required to complete the project, and therefore keep on track (Thomas, 2013). Below is a proposed timeline for the undertaking of this dissertation.
Conclusion
The conclusion section of this paper will provide the reader with an overview of the critical points uncovered throughout the research process. Finally, any suggestions for further research or how the research method could be improved, will be outlined in this section.