The Sound of Success: Investigating Cognitive and Behavioral Effects of Motivational Music in Sports

Abstract

Listening to music before, during, or after sports is a common phenomenon, yet its functions and effects on performance, cognition, and behavior remain to be investigated. In this study we present a novel approach to the role of music in sports and exercise that focuses on the notion of musical self-enhancement (Elvers, 2016). We derived the following hypotheses from this framework: listening to motivational music will (i) enhance self-evaluative cognition, (ii) improve performance in a ball game, and (iii) evoke greater risk-taking behavior. To evaluate the hypotheses, we conducted a between-groups experiment (N = 150) testing the effectiveness of both an experimenter playlist and a participant-selected playlist in comparison to a no-music control condition. All participants performed a ball-throwing task developed by Decharms and Davé (1965), consisting of two parts: First, participants threw the ball from fixed distances into a funnel basket. During this task, performance was measured. In the second part, the participants themselves chose distances from the basket, which allowed their risk-taking behavior to be assessed. The results indicate that listening to motivational music led to greater risk taking but did not improve ball-throwing performance. This effect was more pronounced in male participants and among those who listened to their own playlists. Furthermore, self-selected music enhanced state self-esteem in participants who were performing well but not in those who were performing poorly. We also discuss further implications for the notion of musical self-enhancement.

Is it me or the music? Stress reduction and the role of regulation strategies and music

“…Both interpretations presented lead to the same conclusion: the adequate music was more supportive of stress reduction than the inadequate music. Even though research on music and decision-making is still slim, there is already some evidence for an increased subjective value of risky options while listening to preferred music (Halko & Kaustia, 2015) and to motivating music (Elvers & Steffens, 2017).…”

Drive in Sports: How Mental Fatigue Affects Endurance Performance

“…Performance in endurance sports therefore does not only reflect physical skills, but also relies on decision making during a race ( Smits et al, 2014 ; Micklewright et al, 2017 ). Pacing can be altered in various ways: by mentally fatiguing tasks before a race, presenting athletes with an opponent, ( Viru et al, 2010 ; Hettinga et al, 2017 ; Konings et al, 2017 ; Konings and Hettinga, 2017 ), music ( Terry et al, 2012 ; Laukka and Quick, 2013 ; Elvers and Steffens, 2017 ), by using self-talk ( Hatzigeorgiadis et al, 2011 ; Blanchfield et al, 2014 ), or providing feedback or (monetary) rewards ( Hulleman et al, 2007 ; Skorski and Abbiss, 2017 ).…”

The Digital Hood of Urban Violence: Exploring Functionalities of Social Media and Music Among Gangs

“…Furthermore, Hsu, Huang, Nordgren, Rucker, and Galinsky (2014) claim that listening to music that expresses feelings of power has been observed to actually instill feelings of power and to activate power-related cognition and behavior. Multiple scholars contend that motivational music can lead to enhanced risk-taking behavior, which would usually remain suppressed or inhibited (Dey, Gschwend, Baumgartner, Jäncke, & Jäncke, 2006; Elvers & Steffens, 2017; Halko & Kaustia, 2015). Music may also be used to display power and as a means to threaten an opponent.…”