The effect of music on fine motor and spatial-motor skills

Abstract

The effect of music on spatial-temporal reasoning, as well as the therapeutic impacts of music, has sparked a great deal of interest in scientists, therapists and educational experts. Two experiments investigated whether music affects motor performance using validated musical pieces three conditions: calming, intrusive and a control with no music. Participants were unaware of the experimental music manipulation. In experiment 1, participants were asked to build a domino tower and music had no effect on their (n=26) fine motor movements, the number of dominoes used or reaction time. In experiment 2, participants completed a ‘Magic Snake’ task; and intrusive music interfered with participants’ (n=30) spatial-motor skills, reducing the rate of successful completion of the design. These findings suggest that intrusive, arousing background music disrupts spatial abilities. The findings may have many implications for workplace performance, particularly in jobs that demand high levels of spatial-motor skills, such as engineering, some areas of medicine, or traffic control and driving; where the use of music could potentially interfere with work.