• Syed Muhammad Ali

Background music is frequently used in academic and professional settings to enhance focus and mood; however, its actual impact on cognitive task performance, particularly the speed-0.2accuracy of trade-off, remains inconclusive. This study investigated the influence of background music and incidental memory recall on student performance during a brief, time‑constrained arithmetic task. A total of 300 university students were self‐selected into ‘Music’ or ‘Silence’ conditions. Participants completed a 10‑item arithmetic quiz followed by a free‑recall task involving a 15‑word list. To identify the key predictors of high performance, this study employed logistic regression and tree-based machine-learning classifiers with stratified cross-validation. The results indicate that completion time is the most significant determinant of performance, whereas background music exposure and incidental recall ability have minimal influences. Machine learning models achieved approximately 70 percent classification accuracy in distinguishing high performers, emphasizing the importance of processing speed. These findings suggest that in time-sensitive academic or occupational contexts, interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive efficiency may be more effective than adjusting ambient sounds or incidental learning stimuli.

background music, cognitive performance, memory recall, machine learning, statistical analysis, timed tasks

"IMPACT OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON STUDENT TASK PERFORMANCE: A STATISTICLE AND MACHINE LEARNING ANALYSIS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 7, page no.c483-c525, July-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2507258.pdf

"IMPACT OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON STUDENT TASK PERFORMANCE: A STATISTICLE AND MACHINE LEARNING ANALYSIS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 7, page no. ppc483-c525, July-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2507258.pdf