Introduction: Cognitive ergonomics is a branch of ergonomics science that investigates the impact of environmental conditions on subjective and objective individual performance. Music is known as an effective environmental factor on human performance. The aim of present study is to examine the effect of three different types of music tempo.
Method: In this study, students were randomly divided into 4 groups: iranian pop music, traditional music, Mozart classical music and control groups. In the music group, music was played during Wechsler test accomplishment, while no music was played for the control group. All participants were tested again with an interval of one week, once with music and once without music (except of the control group).
Results: The mean of Wechsler test score after playing music in classic group (22.88±2.42), which was higher than control group (20.94±3.20), pop group (20.36±4.21) and traditional group (19.87±4.90), and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). In addition, mean of working memory score, before (20.29±3.20) and after (22.88±2.42) playing the music in classic group, was increased about 2.59 after playing music, and the difference was significant (P<0.01).
Conclusion: This study shows that listening to classic music can improve working memory performance of students. Therefore, it is recommended to display classic music in workplaces, where memory function is important to improve the work.
 

Keywords: music, working memory, Medical Sciences students

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