ArticleBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2025
The Impact of Background Music on Flow, Work Engagement and Task Performance: A Randomized Controlled Study.
Article in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The impact of instrumental music on dual-task interference in a simulated driving environment.Psychological research · 2026Article
- Job Satisfaction and Optimal Experience in a Swedish Governmental Administration-A Mixed Methods Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The widespread adoption of background music in workplaces contrasts with the inconsistent empirical evidence regarding its cognitive effects, particularly concerning how music types influence the sequential pathway from flow states to work engagement and task performance. While prior research identifies flow and engagement as potential mediators, theoretical conflicts persist regarding their temporal dynamics and susceptibility to auditory habituation. This study tested three hypotheses: (1) music type indirectly affects performance through flow-engagement mediation, (2) high-arousal music impairs while structured compositions (e.g., Mozart's K448) enhance this pathway, and (3) repeated exposure diminishes music's efficacy. A two-phase longitudinal experiment with 428 Chinese undergraduates employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data from randomized groups (control, high-arousal, low-arousal, and Mozart K448), completing Backward Digit Span tasks under controlled auditory conditions. The results confirmed Mozart K448's superior immediate mediation effect (β = 0.118, 95% CI [0.072, 0.181]) compared to high-arousal music's detrimental impact (β = -0.112, 95% CI [-0.182, -0.056]), with flow fully mediating engagement's influence on performance. A longitudinal analysis revealed a 53% attenuation in Mozart's flow-enhancing effect after a 30-day familiarization (B = 0.150 vs. baseline 0.321), though residual benefits persisted. These findings reconcile the cognitive tuning and arousal-mood hypotheses by proposing a hybrid model where music initially operates through a novelty-driven dopamine release before transitioning to schema-based cognitive priming. Practically, the results advocate tiered auditory strategies: deploying structured music during skill acquisition phases while rotating selections to counter habituation. The study highlights the cultural specificity in auditory processing, challenging universal prescriptions and underscoring the need for localized music policies. By integrating flow theory with neurocognitive habituation models, this research advances evidence-based guidelines for optimizing workplace auditory environments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.