Examining the impact of listening to music on writing fluency

Research on the effects of background music has historically produced mixed findings. This study examined whether listening to background music impacted participants' writing fluency and perceived cognitive load. Participants in this experiment were 109 attendees of a science and history museum. Participants had to be at least six years old to participate in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to write a story for three minutes in response to a picture prompt while writing under three listening conditions in random order (i.e. blocked randomised design). Participants' writing samples were scored for the number of words written and the number of words spelled correctly. Two analyses of variance indicated no significant main effect based on background music condition. Regression analyses indicated some significant associations with writing fluency based on participants' personal characteristics. Based on these results, writers should not expect changes in writing fluency when listening to music.