2026-10-07T10:23:25Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33972688 2026-09-30T00:21:51Z category_30382 portal_12 item_type_5 month_year_09_2026

Tingting Yin: Sound as a Tool for Focus: Why There Is No One Size-Fits-All Soundtrack for Productivity Tingting Yin (19777449) Daniel Shephard (4084537) Michael Hautus (1205478) Memory and attention background music sustained attention vigilance focus music arousal physiological responses productivity <p dir="ltr">Many students and workers use background music to stay focused, but evidence for its cognitive benefits remains mixed. This poster presents a within-participant study testing whether different auditory environments (workflow music, classical music, office noise, and silence) shape vigilance performance, mood, arousal, and physiological responses. Fifty-four participants completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task while subjective pleasantness/arousal and heart rate/skin conductance were measured. Silence was associated with the fastest overall responses, while workflow music showed progressive slowing over time. Classical music was rated as more pleasant, and workflow music increased subjective arousal relative to silence, but these effects were not reflected in heart rate or skin conductance. Overall, the findings suggest that sounds can influence different aspects of vigilance and experience, but there is no universal "focus music" benefit for productivity.</p> 2026-09-30T00:21:51Z Image Poster 10.17608/k6.auckland.33972688.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/poster/Sound_as_a_Tool_for_Focus_Why_There_Is_No_One_Size-Fits-All_Soundtrack_for_Productivity/33972688 CC BY 4.0