Music and regaining calm when faced with academic stress

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the influence of listening to music to regain a sense of calm in a group of students after an exam. The sample was made up of 86 teacher-training students. A pre-test–post-test design was carried out with two experimental groups and one control group with repeated measurements in the post-test. Several tests were used, arranged in a data collection protocol that included scales of assessment of “positive” and “negative” emotional states. The results show that music makes easy to regain a state of calm and emotional well-being, although no differences have been found between music and a music composition imitating nature sounds. Lastly, some educational implications of the obtained results are discussed.

Keywords

• music
• examination
• calm
• mood
• university