Experiment no.

Reaction time for visual stimuli with and without music

Purpose

To measure reaction time for visual stimuli with and without music.

Introduction

Reaction is a purposeful voluntary response to an external stimulus. There is certain time

period between application of external stimulus and appropriate motor response to the stimulus

called the reaction time (Balakrishnan, 2014).

Balakrishnan, G. (2014). A Comparative Study on Visual Choice Reaction Time for Different

Colors in Females. Neurology Research International, 1-2, Retrieved from

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/nri/2014/301473/

Reaction time is a measure of how quickly an organism can respond to a particular stimulus.

Reaction time is the interval time between the presentation of a stimulus and the initiation of the

muscular response to that stimulus. The evaluation of the reaction time gives an idea of the

integrity and processing capabilities of the central nervous system. It is an indirect indicator of

the ability of the central nervous system to process and also is a simple tool to determine a

person’s motor–sensory relationship and related functions. In fact, the ability to detect or

recognize one visual stimulus via one response can be assessed by measuring the reaction time

that called simple visual reaction time. A primary factor affecting a response is the number of
possible stimuli, each requiring their own response, that are presented (Amini, Mirzajani,

Jafarzadehpour & Darvishpour, 2019).

Amini, V. R., Mirzajani A, Jafarzadehpour E, Darvishpour S.(2019). Evaluation of Simple

Visual Reaction Time of Different Colored Light Stimuli in Visually Normal Students.

19(11)167-171 Retrieved from https://www.dovepress.com/evaluation-of-simple-visual-reaction-

time-of-different-colored-light-s-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OPTO

Reaction time is very important for our everyday lives and needs intact sensory system, cognitive

processing, and motor performance. Reaction time is a good indicator of sensorimotor coordination and

performance of an individual.

The speed of your reactions plays a large part in your everyday life. Fast reaction times

can produce big rewards. Slow reaction times may come with consequences. Reaction time is a

measure of the quickness an organism responds to some sort of stimulus. You also have

"reflexes" too. Reflexes and reactions, while seeming similar, are quite different. Reflexes are

involuntary, used to protect the body, and are faster than a reaction.

Reaction time is very important for our everyday lives and needs intact sensory system, cognitive

processing, and motor performance. Reaction time is a good indicator of sensorimotor coordination and

performance of an individual (Balakrishnan, 2014).

Mozart effect

As far as music is concerned, the Mozart Effect concluded in 1999 that listening to

classical music temporarily improved spatial reasoning. Since then, studies have been done to

determine the effects of different kinds of music on a variety of kinds of tasks, including reaction

time. The spatial reasoning improvements originally seen were done using a Mozart recording,
but other studies broadened to include other composers and types of music. The effect on spatial

reasoning lasts 10 to 15 minutes after listening to the music. There have been varied results to

these studies, and some question whether the Mozart Effect exists at all.

A study was conducted to establish the influence of techno music on the reaction times of

participants in the research. The hypothesis was that stimulating music, such as techno, would

shorten the participants' reaction time to visual stimuli while, without music, the reaction time

would be longer. 10 athletes participated in the research, representing the control group as well

as the experimental group. Their reaction time shortens significantly according to a measurement

taken after 30 minutes of listening to techno music, nevertheless it is not shortened during the

listening. The control group established that 35 minutes of waiting between the measurements

does not significantly affect the reaction time. Moreover, it was established that 30 minutes of

listening to techno music affected the shortening of the reaction time 45 seconds after the music

was turned off (Karpljuk, Mesko & Strojnik, 2009).

Mesko,M., Strojnik,V., Videmšek,M. & Karpljuk, D.(2009). THE EFFECT OF LISTENING TO

TECHNO MUSIC ON REACTION TIMES TO VISUAL STIMULI, Vol, 39(1) [PDF file], 67-

68. Retrieved from

file:///C:/Users/fast/Downloads/The_effect_of_listening_to_techno_music_on_reactio.pdf

The study analyzes the differences in manual reaction time (RT) to visual stimuli in two

samples of physically active persons: a group of athletes without hearing impairment (n = 79)

and a group of athletes with hearing impairment (n = 44). Reaction time (RT) was measured and

then differences between both groups were assessed by sex, type of sport (individual vs team

sports), and competition level. RT to visual stimuli was significantly shorter for athletes with
hearing impairment than for those without hearing impairment, with a significant sex difference

(shorter RT for males) (Martin, 2014).

Factor affecting reaction time

1. Simple vs. Complex Responses & Reaction Times

More complex responses also elicit slower reaction times. Henry and Rogers (1960) proposed

the "memory drum" theory: those more complex responses require more stored information, and

hence take longer. The status of this theory was reviewed by Klapp (2010).

2. Mean Reaction Times

For about 120 years, the accepted figures for mean simple reaction times for collegeage

individuals have been about 190 ms (0.19 sec) for light stimuli and about 160 ms (0.16) for

sound stimuli.

3. Type of Stimulus

Many researchers have confirmed that reaction to sound is faster than reaction to light,

with mean auditory reaction times being 140-160 msec and visual reaction times being 180-200

msec (Galton, 1899; Woodworth and Schlosberg, 1954). Reaction time to touch is intermediate,

at 155 msec (Robinson, 1934).

4. Stimulus Intensity

Froeberg (1907) found that visual stimuli that are longer in duration elicit faster reaction

times, and Wells (1913) got the same result for auditory stimuli. Piéron (1920) and Luce (1986)
reported that the weaker the stimulus (such as a very faint light) is, the longer the reaction time

is.

5. Arousal

One of the most investigated factors affecting reaction time is 'arousal' or state of attention,

including muscular tension. Reaction time is fastest with an intermediate level of arousal, and

deteriorates when the subject is either too relaxed or too tense (Welford, 1980; Broadbent, 1971;

Freeman, 1933).

6. Age

Simple reaction time shortens from infancy into the late 20s, then increases slowly until the

50s and 60s, and then lengthens faster as the person gets into his 70s and beyond (Welford, 1977;

Jevas and Yan, 2001). Luchies (2002) also reported that this age effect was more marked for

complex reaction time tasks.

7. Fatigue

Welford (1968) found that reaction time gets slower when the subject is fatigued. Singleton

(1953) observed that the deterioration due to fatigue is more marked when the reaction time task

is complicated than when it is simple.

8. Practice and Errors

Sanders (1998) showing that when subjects are new to a reaction time task, their reaction

times are less consistent than when they've had an adequate amount of practice. If a subject

makes an error, subsequent reaction times are slower, as if the subject is being more cautious.
 9. Distraction

Welford (1980) reviewed studies showing that distractions increase reaction time that is the

reaction time is slow (Factors Affecting Reaction Time, n.d.).

Factors Affecting Reaction Time, (n.d.) Scientific Journal Reviews., [pdf file]. Retrieved from

https://www.hptinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Factors-Affecting-Reaction-

Time1.pdf

Apparatus

Chronoscope, Pencil, Graph paper and Reading sheet

Hypothesis

Reaction time for visual stimulus varies with or without music.

Procedure

The subject was instructed that she was to conduct a simple experiment of reaction time

for visual stimuli with and without music. The subject was seated on the other side of the

chronoscope. She was instructed to operate the chronoscope lever when she sees the light on the

screen. The time was set for 4 seconds. First 10 trials were conducted without music and other 10

trials were conducted with music and the reaction time on the chronoscope was recorded.
Results

Table no 7.1

Shows reaction time with music and without music.

Trials Time with music (sec) Time without music (sec)

1 6 sec 1 sec
2 8 sec 1 sec
3 6 sec .5 sec
4 6 sec .4 sec
5 2 sec .4 sec
6 .6 sec .6 sec
7 4 sec .2 sec
8 2 sec .5 sec
9 1 sec .3 sec
10 2.5 sec .1 sec

Table no 7.2

Shows average difference

Reaction time N M
With music 10 3.31
Without music 10 0.5

Qualitative Analysis

There is a significant difference between the reaction time of the trials with music and

trials recorded without music. The average reaction time with music is 3.31 and average reaction

time without music is .5.

Discussion
 Reaction is shorter with music but in the presence of the music or a distracting factor

caused a relatively longer reaction time. So it could be concluded that the reaction time is

influenced by the distracting factor in the environment.