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Abstract

Music is different sounds put together to create harmonies. Stress is a reaction to an interference that disturbs the functioning of an organism. Although many previous experiments tested the effect of music on stress levels and reactions, the correlations among three factors (perception, processing, and reaction)has not been investigated. The objective of this experiment is to test the effect of stress levels on correlations of three factors within physical response reaction with and without background music. It is hypothesized that participants with high-stress levels would have the fastest response reaction regardless of the type of music they listen to. Each participant was randomly put in one group, each group having different testing sequences. The participants then took a stress test, listened to cheerful, suspenseful, and no music for thirty seconds each, and took a “push the button activity” to test their reaction speed. Participants were divided into different groups according to their stress levels and reaction time under different music conditions was compared. Listening to music worsened participants' reactions, however it had the least influence on low stress participants. The data showed that there is no significant difference in reaction times possibly due to the small sample size. It rejects the hypothesis that high stress levels will have a faster response reaction time regardless of the music they listen to. Participants with high stress levels have a faster reaction time and so do low stress levels. Future work includes specific age requirements and extended time period for data collection. Introduction: Music: Music is a vocal and or instrumental sound that is put together to create beautiful harmonies. Since early times, music has played an essential part in human life. It was appreciated by ancient, primitive, and advanced civilizations that realized its power. Music is universal as language, but it 'speaks' louder than words (Yehuda, 2011). Music can create an imprint in one's mind because it is such a powerful tool. Music is effective in many ways, including improving temperament(Fisher, Khashram, Narayanan, & Pearson, 2021).People use music to change Emma Davidoff, Danielle Kemmett, Tasnuva RawshanFLHS Science Research Research Paper emotions, release emotions, match their current emotions, enjoy or comfort themselves, and relieve stress (Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008). Therefore, music is a reaction generator in terms of making one release a reaction by listening to music. Different types of music can make one release a reaction. For example, if one is listening to slow music, classical music, or any music that makes one feel happy, it may reduce stress because it calms one down (Attin et al., 2015). Depending on what is playing, people create visuals in their minds, connected to what they hear (Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008). These visuals and sounds can make one be more at ease or tense bringing out a reaction to music (Attin et al., 2015). Not only does music provide for a reaction while listening to it, but it also gives a person a lasting feeling. For example, if one listens to an upbeat song, the person feels more energized afterward (Shih, Huang, & Chiang, 2012). Due to these reasons, music is commonly used in therapy to keep a patient at ease (Juslin P. N. & Västfjäll, 2008). However, music is also used in physical medical visits. Playing music for ten minutes before treatment is shown to reduce one's stress levels more than if the patient were to sit in silence 10 minutes before their treatment (Attin et al., 2015). When one goes to the doctor, or one needs to be mentally treated, because of the imprint music has on a person, it can calm that person's stress levels, and that treats what is happening. Background music is a form of music without lyrics made up of different sounds or tones or beats, etc. Background music is everywhere. It is common in many work environments, including hotels, restaurants, offices, banks, shops, and hospitals (Shih, Huang, & Chiang, 2012). Background music can also be listened to on music websites on phones, pads, laptops, etc. For example, in emotional therapy specifically, music can help one feel sad, feel happy and benefit their emotional and mental health, which keeps their stress levels low. (Attin et al., 2015). All in all, background music induces emotions such as stress and or calms one’s stress. Stress: In psychology and biology, the term 'stress' describes a response or reaction to an external event or interference that disturbs and jeopardizes the functioning of an organism. While music does reduce stress, the underlying cause for the stress in the first place is also essential. Many conditions could stress one out, such as one's job (Ilies, & Dimotakis, 2010), medical Emma Davidoff, Danielle Kemmett, Tasnuva RawshanFLHS Science Research Research Paper procedures (Attin et al., 2015), and one's workload (Shih, Huang, & Chiang, 2012). While all these conditions do induce stress, stress is also part of everyday life (at home, in work, in personal relations), as well as a psychological condition that is part of a crisis (trauma, wartime, illness, etc.) (Yehuda,2011). Every person comes from a different background, their stress levels being biologically different from birth and affected through different life experiences as life goes on (Alijioki, Nislin, Sajaniemi, & Suhonen 2018). High blood pressure, a quickened heart rate, and feeling of pressure on or around the chest area are indications of stress (Yehuda, 2011). When the body is stressed, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) contributes to what is known as the 'fight or flight' response. “fight or flight” is when the nervous system senses something that is dangerous or worth causing one stress and the body either fights it or flees the danger. This is a response reaction, and that is how the nervous system contributes to it. When in a stressed state, if there has been no outlet, then the person experiencing the stress is more likely to have trouble sleeping and mood in general, possibly leading to a depressive state (Dewald-Kaufmann, J.F., et al., 2014). Emotional burnout also makes it more challenging to manage stress while increasing it. Emotional burnout is the state of emotional exhaustion due to stress making one incapable of doing their regular tasks (Ilies & Dimotakis, 2010). The source of stress is not always a specific stressor; it is the feeling of being out of control and not being able to have complete control over one's stressful situations. In addition, stress can physically manifest itself as well; more stressed people are more likely to end up with coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, faster heart rate etc.. (Yehuda, 2011). Physical manifestations of stress can occur when one's body is preparing to fight or run away. It is an innate response in our bodies; however, in more recent times, the human race has become less capable of releasing this tension and stress, leading to physical ailments by keeping the body stressed and ready to flee or fight. Stress affects one's ability to function, presenting itself in anxiety, depression, and physical ailments. This is due to unhealthy ways of expressing stress and releasing stress hormones, subsiding the stress in one's body. For example, when humans were less technologically advanced than present day, they would physically respond to danger through running or fighting, hence the fight or flight response. However, in the modern era, it has become Emma Davidoff, Danielle Kemmett, Tasnuva RawshanFLHS Science Research Research Paper more difficult for humans to physically respond to danger, therefore being unable to release stress hormones. (Yehuda, 2011). Fight or flight could also happen mentally as well because if a person is dealing with a mental danger/situation and not a physical one the person could fight and cry or the person could just leave the situation. Stress is not only produced from the perception of a threat, it also has to do with the accessibility of resources to deal with that stressor (Attin et al., 2015). Stress will stay bottled up inside if one is not provided with the necessary materials or circumstances to release stress or eliminate the threat. Such as when one hand in an assignment for work or school, they have released their mind of stress but not physically their body (Attin et al., 2015). Another factor that heavily contributes to stress is the media. The media heavily affects one's stress levels through people being compared to body types or personalities. Media figures give people bad images of their bodies, making them wish they looked like these models and social figures, giving them an unhealthy amount of stress to cope with the comparison of features. Body image has led to much stress, especially in young teens; they believe that they must look for a sure way to match what they see on tv. This leads them to have stress walking outside and going to school in fear of anyone seeing their body (Young et al., 2012). Adolescents suffer from stress; this comes from the many changes in their life all at once, and their relationships paired with a heavy workload makes it difficult for them to get the recommended amount of sleep. Sleep is an essential function, and it helps to relieve stress. Therefore, if one is not getting proper sleep, it could affect them psychologically and lead to stress. The proper amount of sleep is not the only factor here; however, it is also the quality of sleep. Regardless of how many hours one gets, one would still feel stressed if the sleep was not comfortable or refreshing. (Dewald-Kaufmann J.F.et al., 2014). While teens get the worst sleep, adults are also affected by their job workloads, keeping them awake and unable to relieve stress. While less sleep does contribute to stress; The main factors are worries, tension, uncertainties about the outcome, lack of control, pain, and perceived or actual threat to physical integrity due to a forthcoming event. However, when stress levels are too high, some people take minor threats such as presenting to their boss or teacher as a threat to their physical being (Attin et al., 2015). Being so incapable of releasing stress is due to an ancient response of human bodies from when Emma Davidoff, Danielle Kemmett, Tasnuva RawshanFLHS Science Research Research Paper one would run away from a threat or fight it. Now humans receive threats from what will physically harm them and a build-up of unreleased stress from other more tangible threats. Minor threats could be stressful if one has been unhealthily coping with stress from real threats to their well-being (Antolínez D. & Agres K. R. 2008). While an overflow of stress is unhealthy, there is good stress, and as long as you manage it, stress can be beneficial. When humans are in crisis, the brain releases the hormone cortisol; this makes one's heartbeat faster and their muscles tense. This is preparing a person for their fight or flight response. When you have psychosomatic trauma, this can cause one's body to have a harmful amount of stress, and not releasing it properly could lead to confusion in one's body's stress response. An excessive amount of unreleased cortisol could make one react to a minor threat as if their lives were in danger. However, stress takes less of a toll on one when they have people to help them through it. If one was losing their supportive relationships, they could have an even harder time responding to stress (Berkhof H. et al., 1996). While these are all ways that stress can be caused, music such as background music is a therapeutic way to calm that stress which may bring down stress levels. Rationale: This experiment tested the effect of stress levels on correlations of 3 factors within physical response reaction with and without background music. Most previous experiments tested the effect of music on stress levels, however this experiment tests response reaction while listening to music based on stress levels.Music in previous experiments is shown to demonstrate an increase in performance, however there are no experiments on participants reaction time whilst listening to music (Mohan & Thomas, 2019). Additionally,Although many previous experiments tested the effect of music on stress levels and reactions, the correlations among 3 factors (perception, processing, and reaction)has not been investigated.A person uses response reactions daily. Specifically, three factors: perception which is hearing and knowing what you need to respond to, then processing to understand and focus on how you are going to react, and finally, the reaction which is the response to the perception. Apprehending more about both our physical response reaction functions and what may disrupt it, this research is essential because it helps show how to potentially train ourselves to have more control over our responses.It tests

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