Mid-term Presentation

Topic
Objective:
Determine the effectiveness of music on stress levels for MSU students
studying Psychology vs. MSU students studying art during studying.

Group Members:

1. Rebekah Wilen
Data Collection
● In this observational study, data was obtained using a standardized questionnaire designed
to compare the impact of music on stress reduction between MSU art students and MSU
psychology students.
● Participants were chosen based on their enrollment in either an art or psychology program.
These two fields were chosen because they have opposing approaches to learning and
creativity—art students may engage in more creative work, whereas psychology students
frequently focus on theory and research-based activities. The study attempted to determine
whether these variations influenced how each group responded to music during academic
tasks.
● Participants were selected from undergraduate programs in art and psychology. The
recruitment process intended to strike a balance between these two groups in order to
provide a direct comparison. To ensure that the findings were diverse and generalizable, no
extra limits were placed, such as gender, age, or personal music preferences.
● A structured questionnaire was created to collect important information such as music
listening habits, stress levels, study session features, and task performance. The poll was
constructed such that replies could be easily compared between art and psychology
students.
● Participants were asked to rate their stress levels prior to their most recent
study session. This pre- and post-comparison helped analyze the possible
stress-reduction effects of music in both student groups.
● Subjective evaluations of concentration, output, and performance during the
study session were also included. Participants described the kind of assignment
they were working on as well as for how long making it possible to compare
perceived performance.
● The questionnaire was distributed digitally and the data was anonymized with
only relative demographics included such as: age, gender, major, and schooling
(i.e., undergrad, grad)
 Results: Demographic of Respondents

Gender: Male, Female, Non-binary/gender fluid, or Prefer not to answer

Age: typically around 18-20 years old
Major: Art or Psychology
Undergrad/Grad: Undergrad
 Results: Discussion of Histograms

The distribution is left-skewed, with most The distribution is approximately The distribution is approximately The distribution is right-skewed,
students reporting higher stress levels and a symmetric, with stress levels clustered symmetric, with no obvious skew.. It is with most students reporting
longer tail on the left side. It is unimodal around the middle. It is bimodal, with a bimodal, showing a peak towards the right lower stress levels and a longer tail
showing a single peak at higher levels, peak at higher stress levels (8-10) and (7-8)and to the left (0-2). No outliers are on the right. It is bimodal, with a
particularly around 8-10. There is no outlier lower (2-4). No clear outliers are present, present there is just a gap between 6-8 duepeak at (0-2) and (5-7).. There is
that is present. The data just shows that very except for the bar all the way to the left to there being no value there. no outlier just an isolated bar at
low stress levels are uncommon among the which stands slightly apart from the main (0-1) due to there being no value
students and high levels are common among distribution. after.
the students.
 Results: Discussion of Outliers in Boxplot

The median is the same as the The median stress level appears The median stress level
The median stress level appears to be pre-study phase, but the to be slightly higher than the appears to be slightly lower
the same as the post-study phase. distribution of the data suggests post-study phase. The boxplot than the pre-study phase.
There are no outliers. that studying might have helped
shows no outliers The boxplot shows no
reduce stress levels. The boxplot
shows no outliers. outliers.
 Results: Discussion of Visual Sample Comparison

From the histogram, the

From the histogram, the
peak for pre-study stress
peak for post-study stress From the histogram, the peak for From the histogram, the peak
levels appears around 8-10. pre-study stress levels appears for post-study stress levels
levels appears around 6-8.
This suggests that the around 6-7. This suggests that appears around 5-7. This
This suggests that the
center of distribution is on
center of distribution is the center of distribution is suggests that the center of
the higher end, reflecting a
relatively on the higher end relatively in the middle. distribution is relatively in the
higher typical stress level
but close to the middle. middle.
for Psychology students.
 Results: Discussion of Appropriate Measures to Use
Art Post-Study: In right-skewed distributions the mean can be influenced by extreme values
on the higher end, leading to a misleading representation of the center. The median, on the
other hand, provides a better measure of central tendency as it is less affected by outliers.
The IQR is preferred for spread because it focuses on the middle 50% of the data, making it
strong against skewness and outliers.

Psychology Post-Study: Although the distribution is approximately symmetric, there are

peaks indicating potential variability in the data. Using the median ensures a good measure
of center that isn’t skewed by extreme values. The IQR is appropriate for spread since it
provides a clear view of variability while remaining resistant to the influence of outliers.
Results: Discussion of Samples Using Chosen Center and Spread Measurement

Measure of Center

Art Students: Median post-study stress level is 5

Psychology Students: Median post-study stress level is 6

Comparison

Psychology students have a higher median stress level than Art students.

Measure of Spread

Art Students: IQR is smaller, indicating less variability in stress levels.

Psychology Students: IQR is larger, suggesting greater variability.

Comparison

Psychology students have a greater IQR, indicating more variability in their stress levels compared to Art students.

This implies that the Psychology population may face more intense and fluctuating stressors compared to the Art
population.
 Results: Discussion of Expectations and
Limitations
Before collecting data, I expected that:

Psychology students would have higher stress levels compared to Art students due to
the nature of their coursework, which often involves more intensive study and analysis.

While Art students showed their clear benefits from listening to music, Psychology
students’ varied responses highlight the complexity of music’s effectiveness on stress
management. Further research could explore specific genres and their psychological
impacts to optimize studying for different student populations.