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Running Head: LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 1
The Effects of Low-Fidelity Music and Font Style on Recall
Kyle Jeshua S. Casumbal, Chloe Kaye T. Chan, Francesca Ysabelle V. de Guzman,
Nina Veronica G. Fernandez, Anneliese Victoria N. Ng, and Matthew C. So
Ateneo de Manila University
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 2
Acknowledgment
We have taken tremendous efforts in this paper. However, it would not have been
possible without the kind support and help of several individuals. We would like to extend
our utmost and sincere thanks to the following:
We are highly indebted to Kyle Casumbal for her engagement with this paper’s
review of related literature, results, discussion as well as the experiment proper.
We would like to express our deepest appreciation to Chloe Chan for her unwavering
determination and resolve in conceptualising up until administration of the experimental and
in her engagement with this paper’s review of related literature and discussion
We would like to extend our utmost thanksgiving to Nina Fernandez for tremendous
support, good-moral character as well as her engagement in this paper. Without her, the
discussion, methodology, and experiment proper would not be possible
We would like to offer our utmost thanksgiving to Francesca de Guzman for her
relentless quick thinking, objective reasoning, and light-hearted approach in solving problems
and in her engagement in this paper’s introduction, review of related literature, and
discussion.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Anneliese Ng for her unmatched
skills in logistic problem solving, scheduling, and zeal in her engagement in this paper’s
methodology, introduction, and abstract..
We are also eternally grateful for Matthew So’s tremendous efforts, and efficacy of
involvement in this paper’s abstract, introduction, review of related literature, and results..
We would also like to offer our sincerest gratitude for the guidance, support, and
warmth from our instructor, Jocelyn ―Jopie‖ Nolasco. Without her presence, the group would
be in disarray. We are looking forward to working with her more in the near future.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 3
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of both music and font on recall. The genre
of music investigated on was low fidelity or lo-fi music, which either had lyrics or no lyrics;
on the other hand no background music served as the control group. The fonts Sans Forgetica
and Arial were investigated on as well. It was hypothesised that music will have a significant
effect on recall reflected through the free recall task. Furthermore, it was hypothesised that
font and its interaction effect will also both yield significant results. The 207 participants of
the study, who are current Ateneo de Manila University undergraduates, were tasked to
memorize 15 words in 30 seconds under one of the two font conditions (Arial, Sans
Forgetica) and one of three music conditions (lo-fi lyrical, lo-fi non-lyrical, no background
music). Their recall was tested by writing down as many words memorized. In total, there
were six different experimental conditions for this 3 x 2 factorial design in which the
participants could be assigned to. A factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Results
showed that music significantly affected recall on memory. A post hoc test revealed that
participants given the lo-fi non-lyrical condition scored significantly higher than the lo-fi
lyrical condition. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the no background
music condition and lo-fi non-lyrical condition. On the other hand, font alone did not
significantly affect recall, it was only through an interaction effect between the Sans
Forgetica font and non-lyrical lo-fi music that recall improved.
Keywords: Font, Lo-fi, Low-fidelity, Memory, Music, Recall, Sans Forgetica
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 4
The Effects of Low-Fidelity Music and Font Style on Recall
Learning, much like most things, have no singularity within them. Each person
understands and processes information differently, and therefore implore different strategies
for studying that works best for them. However, according to Bacon (2017), the typical
student does not receive appropriate or formal instruction that facilitates study behaviour.
Rather, these students tend to rely on personal experience (Karpicke and Blunt, 2011). The
specific strategy that this experiment wishes to investigate is the association between
listening to music and information processing procedures, and the effects that using different
fonts have on short-term memory. Particularly, the effects of listening to the lo-fi or low
fidelity music genre and using the font style Sans Forgetica on memory recall. There have
been previous studies conducted to see the effects of music on state-dependent learning as
well as higher level processing associated with an alteration in memory, but none (thus far)
have investigated the effects of a contemporary genre of music such as lo-fi on individuals.
Furthermore, the established effects of a new font style specifically made to improve memory
on single words are limited in generalizability due to its recency and lack in literature.
Lo-fi Music and Recall
This study made use of the lo-fi genre, a new and popular genre of music most
popularly characterized as a soothing and calming beat. It is a subset of the hip-hop genre,
that incorporates elements of classical music as well as jazz and blues to create a synthesis
which students often listen to through music streaming websites such as YouTube and
Spotify for free (Amable, 2019). Lo-fi playlists often come with a title similar to ―music to
relax/study to‖ suggesting for individuals to ambiently and passively listen whilst they
engage in another activity such as relaxing or studying. According to Lutes (2018), the most
popular and well-known source containing a playlist of nothing but lo-fi songs would be the
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 5
Youtube channel ChilledCow which hosts a live stream video that has been going on since
the 18th of March 2018, entitled ―lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to‖.
Lo-fi can be identified through its signature samples from other hip-hop and jazz
songs, vocals from popular media, such as speeches, trending videos, or scenes in TV shows
and movies, and natural sounds such as raindrops, birds chirping, or cars passing (Harper,
2014). For instance, lo-fi artist Idealism has songs entitled nagashi and controlla, which are
songs that consist of sounds of raindrops and a sample of a hip-hop song, respectively.
Deriving from the term ―low fidelity‖, lo-fi music exhibits ―poor sound quality‖ in contrast to
its counterpart, hi-fi or high fidelity which exhibits ―high sound quality‖; the former does not
necessarily have poor music quality per se, but the term ―poor‖ stems from the music’s
characteristic of being edited and distorted, thus, sounding slightly different than the sounds
produced by the original instruments. Case in point, lo-fi artist Knowmadic released a song
entitled absence which plays static sounds at the start of the song with irregularities in the
song tempo and beat.
Lo-fi can be categorized then, as ―soft music‖, with the use of instruments such as
pianos, bongos, and guitars. It is for this reason that the researchers have hypothesized that
lo-fi music will have facilitative qualities rather than serving as a source for interference of
memory acquisition. Dolegui’s (2013) study on the impact of listening to music on cognitive
performance claims that when presented with complex, academic cognitive tasks, students
score higher when soft music is playing in the background, as opposed to heavy metal rock
music, or as stated in the study, ―loud music,‖ which contain drums, electric guitars, and bass
guitars. Loud music coming from such instruments may pose as distractions to students
attempting to perform the academic tasks at hand, and will thus affect the final scores.
As stated earlier, due to the recency of this trend, no formal psychological study has
been conducted on the effects that listening to lo-fi music has on memory retention and recall.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 6
The YouTube channel ChilledCow—a channel popular with providing a plethora of lo-fi
music options for media consumption has over 213 million views as a testament to its
popularity. The nature in which this genre of music is being used for is predominantly
concerned with providing a supplementary ambient sound that intends to aid students as they
study, but no study has been conducted to establish this claim.
Sans Forgetica and Recall
Students who engage in academic tasks such as studying, need to be made aware of
the importance that the clarity of the content being presented to them is very influential on
how much information they end up retaining. This being said, clarity may be described as
either formatting (document, powerpoint, or video), medium (printed on paper or on a
screen), and/or even font style. Intuitively, individuals are predisposed towards their
gravitation towards the clarity of the content through superficial means or not relating to the
connotations each word has, being rather fixated instead on the way it looks. Since the
superficial clarity of the content influences the retention of information, the researchers
hypothesised that font style will indeed have a significant difference.
Using the principles of cognitive psychology, particularly higher level processing, the
font style Sans Forgetica, which means "without forgetting" was developed by the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology or RMIT University to enhance memory recall through its
appearance. Unlike typical typefaces, the font was designed to appear incomplete to give
learners an optimal difficulty in reading each letter by deliberately making each word
difficult to read (Francis, 2018).
Since its visual distinctiveness prompts the reader to increase their focus on the text
and dwell on each word longer, it allows the brain to engage in deeper cognitive processing,
thus enhancing the retention of information (Francis, 2018). Furthermore, the font makes use
of systematic gaps and italizations in their letters to allow the brain to further deepen the
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 7
semantic process of encoding the information into a more meaningful and therefore
retrievable source. By disrupting the flow of individual letterforms, a condition called
'desirable difficulty' is created (Bjork & Bjork, 2009).
Desirable difficulties involves the manipulation of learning conditions to prevent
consistency and predictability (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). Examples include interleaving
instruction on separate topics rather than grouping instruction by topic, spacing instead of
massing study sessions on a given topic, and using tests instead of presentations as study
events. These obstacles are considered to be 'desirable' because it incites encoding and
retrieval processes that support learning, comprehension, and remembering (Simon & Bjork,
2001). However, if the individual does not have the background and/or skills to respond to
these obstacles successfully, it becomes undesirably difficult, and thus becomes an
obstruction to the learning process itself (Kornell et al., 2009).
Similar to lo-fi music, the body of literature about Sans Forgetica is scant. No formal
psychological study has been published on the impact of the font on memory retention and
recall. This is due to the recency of its development, however, RMIT University is currently
conducting studies on the effectiveness of the font (Francis, 2018). In addition, this study
may contribute to the developing knowledge of this font. Ultimately, this study aimed to
investigate the effects of lo-fi music and Sans Forgetica on recall.
Effects of Music and Font on Recall
Memory refers to the dynamic mechanisms that encode, store, and retrieve
information (Blasi, Bjorklund, & Soto, 2003). Because of the way memory operates (e.g.
encoding information and processing it from sensory memory to long-term memory), it can
be assessed in different ways. One way is through recall tasks wherein the individual is asked
to produce information, such as a word or a fact, from memory (Lockhart, 2000). Recall is
often used to measure declarative memory (or explicit memory), which refers to the memory
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 8
system that is controlled consciously, intentionally, and flexibly; it is often represented by
fill-in and short answer tests (May & Einstein, 2013).
In this study, participants had their memory assessed through a free-recall test
wherein the subject, without any given cues, were asked to repeat what had been previously
retained in no particular order (Franklin & Mewhort, 2002). In the study by Gavett and
Horwitz (2012), one commonly reported phenomenon inherent in every single free recall list
learning tests is the serial position effect. This effect describes the pattern observed when
words are recalled: words in the beginning and the end of a list are more likely to be recalled
than items from the middle of a list. In other words, this effect shows that the probability of a
word being recalled varies as a function of its position in the list (Gavett & Horwitz, 2012).
According to the Levels of Processing Framework on the other hand, the level at
which information is stored depends on how it is encoded. In relation to recall, it is easier to
retrieve information when it has been encoded and processed more meaningfully (Craik &
Lockhart, 1972). This would mean that memory does not operate in independent storages, but
in a continuum where information lies. This implies that there are (theoretically) an infinite
number of levels of processing (Ragland, Moelter, McGrath, Hill, Gur, Biker, 2003). By
encoding more complex information through elaboration and other interventions, information
is retained longer. The font style sans forgetica, would then be much more effective in
individual’s elaboration of the content they are trying to encode resulting to a deeper and
prolonged retention into the long term memory.
The study investigated the possible effects of divided attention on recall—more
specifically the effects of passively listening to music while trying to process or memorise
terms. According to Kensinger et al. (2003) divided attention implies an implicit lessening of
activity in the prefrontal cortex or PFC with the performance of a primary task and a difficult
secondary task. The experiment the researchers conducted confirmed previously established
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 9
reports concluding that encoding information with a difficult task reduces activation in the
PFC regions which is believed to play a major role in the maintenance of visual memories.
The study shows the dynamic interaction between the primary task and the secondary task
wherein the interference of both work to limit successful processing of either task; in the case
of the experiment – reduced memory retrieval (Kensinger et al., 2003).
Alternatively, the study by Freitas et al. (2018) found that areas of the brain associated
with processing semantic memories (left superior frontal gyrus) were activated when familiar
music was played. Furthermore, thalamic activity was found to suggest an anticipation in the
progression of the song being played due to the expectation of what comes next from the
individuals. Lo-fi music has that distinct repetitive nuance in its roots to hip hop as a genre
often using the same beats all throughout the song which may trigger the same anticipation
and expectancy effect familiar music has on thalamic activity. This activity in the thalamus is
also associated with the regulation of attentional resources in task performance making
individuals better able to accommodate both tasks with little to no deterioration in motivation
since familiar songs do not need to be processed as much to serve as a distractor.
Consequently, multisensory integration (i.e. listening to music and memorising a list
of words) are normal functions of the brain which aims to integrate differentiated input from
afferent neurons to amalgamate into ―one coherent gestalt‖ (Hodges et al., 2014). Listening to
music (aural sensation) and reading (visual sensation) are automatically integrated to
associate one with the other. This process is done to speed up and reduce the processing of
environmental factors, but at the same time risks disunification in the integration process
which results to misperception (Hodges et al., 2014). The study conducted by Hodges et. al.
(2014), however, investigated the integration of an automatised function related to day-to-day
activities such as passively listening to music and reading books. The researchers predict that
there will be an interference when there is a change in the automated process of either task
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 10
(listening to music, or reading) resulting to the misperception stated earlier which would
reflect in the recall task being administered.
Alternatively, researchers have observed that when instrumental background music
was played in conjunction with the task of memorizing a list of unrelated words, there was no
significant increase in the number of words recalled (Echaide et al., 2019). This is in contrast
to studies on divided attention, which suggests that music hinders the retention process by
intruding the neurocognitive resources during the encoding of verbal memories such as a list
of words. Although, the study did not improve recall, it did not cause a decrease in words
recalled either. This shows that music, specifically instrumental, does not serve as a
distraction when in the process of encoding verbal information. This is explained further by
Echaide (2019) in the context of cognitive psychology, where the processing of music occurs
in the right hemisphere of the brain while the encoding of short and long-term information is
encoded in the frontal lobe. This distinction allows the possibility of independent processing
of musical and verbal material.
Background music when played during the encoding process as well as during the
recall process was found to increase the recall performance and decrease forgetting (Smith,
1985). This was tested by playing white noise or instrumental music while presented with a
list of words. The recall of words was better after 48 hours when music was present in both
encoding and testing as opposed to when the music was changed or removed during testing.
Therefore, context-dependent learning in relation to music is contingent on music as a cue to
enhance subsequent recall. Without the presence of a cue such as music during testing, the
number of words recalled will decrease which is expected to reflect as well during the
experiment.
The study tested the effects of lyrical and non-lyrical lo-fi music on recall of the
participants. In a study by Miller (2014), students who studied with lyrical classical music
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 11
scored significantly lower in the given tests than those who studied with non-lyrical classical
music playing in the background. Miller (2014) explains this as an interference in semantic
processing – with other meaningful verbal forms present in the background as students try to
accomplish their assigned reading tasks. This causes a rift in cognitive semantic capacity and
thus limits maximum processing of more important semantic tasks. It is in the interaction
between this limited attention in reading tasks and the supposed improvement of Sans
Forgetica that concerns the experimenters of this study.
Other studies have shown that variations in music, induced positive changes in
arousal and mood of individuals (Husain et al., 2002). Moreover, Ali and Peynircioğlu (2006)
discussed the positive effects of lyrics and melodies of songs on the emotional aspect of the
listener. The absence of lyrics coupled with the slow tempo, and the soft sound of songs
greatly induced happy emotions which would aid a participant to recall words easier. As a
result, heightened arousal and mood lead to an improved performance among individuals as
stated in accordance to the Yerkes-Dodson Law in the study by Kämpfe et al. (2011) which
mentions that attaining the optimum arousal of an individual is likely to improve performance
and going beyond the optimum level of arousal may cause a decline in the performance of the
individual. Furthermore, the study conducted by Adams & McNair (2018) on the effects of
background music on reading comprehension found that scores of reading comprehension
exam were positively affected by music.
On the other hand, a study of fonts conducted by Oppenheimer, Diemand-Yauman,
and Vaughan (2012), proved that fonts which seem to appear more complicated to read
actually enhanced the cognitive processes undergone in the brain. This study had students
memorize biological profiles of fictional characters, where these profiles were presented in
the more frequently used and perceived Arial font, as well as the lesser known Bodoni font.
Results of this study showed a significant improvement in performance in the test given for
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 12
memory recall from the group given the less legible Bodoni font profile. Oppenheimer et al.
(2012) explained that this is due to the complexity of the fonts, giving rise to a tendency to
attempt and process the content in a deeper and meaningful level, thus improving the chances
of optimal recall. The difficulty that comes with reading the text causes the deliberate
decrease in pace and focus more on attempting to understand the content, as opposed to
simply skimming through it automatically.
According to Baeza-Yates and Rello (2011), Arial is the most commonly used font on
screen. This font belongs to the sans serif typeface, which is characterized by having no serifs
or small lines at the edges of letters (Screws, 2016). The study of Baeza-Yates and Rello
(2011) found that although Arial is highly recommended in literature and has the shortest
reading time, it does not enhance the readability of text. Because Sans Forgetica is also a
sans serif font, the researchers deem it appropriate to compare the font with Arial in the
study. Otherwise, using a serif font, such as Times New Roman, would affect the findings of
experiment since these fonts allow the reader perform better since serif fonts add a more
distinct end to each letter, thus increasing the fluidity of reading (Screws, 2016).
With the aforementioned literature, this study investigated the effects of genre of lo-fi
music and font styles on recall. Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions.
1. Does the genre of lo-fi music significantly affect recall?
2. Does the style of font significantly affect recall?
3. Does the effect of genre of lo-fi music on recall depend on the style of font?
The researchers posit the following hypotheses:
1. Genre of lo-fi music will significantly affect recall.
2. Style of font will significantly affect recall.
3. The effect of genre of lo-fi music on recall will depend on the style of font.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 13
Method
Participants
There were 207 participants in the study. The 79 male (38.2%) and 128 female
(61.8%) participants were undergraduate students who have not taken Experimental
Psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University. They were recruited by enlisting on Sign-
Up.com, which also determined the music condition underwent in the course of the
experiment. During the respective schedule of the experiment proper, participants were
randomly assigned to the font condition by a count-off prior to entering the experiment
venue.
Design
The experimental design of the experiment is a 3 x 2 Factorial Design. Consequently,
there were six treatment conditions. The first independent variable, lo-fi music had three
levels: lo-fi lyrical, lo-fi non-lyrical, and no background music. The second independent
variable, Font styles had two levels: Arial and Sans Forgetica. The 207 participants were
randomly assigned to the font through a count-off and music condition depending on the
schedule they enlisted for.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 14
Table 1
The Six Treatment Conditions of the Experiment (N = 207)
Lo-fi Lyrical
Lo-fi Non-lyrical
No background
music
Total (Font)
Sans
Forgetica
n = 33
n = 40
n = 30
n = 103
Arial
n = 35
n = 39
n = 30
n = 104
Total
(Music)
n = 68
n = 79
n = 60
Measures and Manipulations
Independent Variable
The independent variables of the study were the genre of lo-fi music and the font
styles used for the task, which had three and two levels respectively. These were lo-fi lyrical,
lo-fi non-lyrical, and no background music (control group). In efforts to maintain the internal
validity of this experiment, the lo-fi lyrical music and lo-fi non-lyrical music used was the
same all throughout each level of the experiment. The lo-fi lyrical music used can be found
on Spotify with the title: “lo-fi lyrical” under user Kyle Casumbal’s public playlists. The lo-
fi non-lyrical music used can also be found under Spotify user, Kyle Casumbal, with the title:
“lo-fi non-lyrical”. On the other hand, there were two levels for font styles namely Sans
Forgetica and Arial (see Appendix E).
Dependent Variable
Memory Recall was operationally defined as the number of words correctly recalled
by participants. It was measured through a Free Recall Test, where the participants were
asked to recall as many words on the flashcards and write them down in any order after the
recall period. (See Appendix F).
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 15
Methodology
The experiment was targeted to undergraduate students of Ateneo de Manila
University who have not taken the course Experimental Psychology. Participants were
recruited by enlisting for one of 30 slots on the SignUp.com sign-up sheet released by the
experimenters. They were made aware about the ten-minute duration and schedules for each
session of the experiment; the experiment was conducted over a span of six days. They were
also asked to choose the most convenient time period to participate in the experiment. After
enlistment, the participants were asked to confirm their schedule and participation. An hour
prior to their enlisted session, participants were texted by the experimenters to be reminded of
the venue and time of the experiment.
The experiments were conducted in the Experimental Psychology Laboratory and
Teachers' Center (see Appendix A for the flow of the experiment). Before the experiment
proper, the researchers arranged the desks in the room in such a way that the room is
distinctly divided into two sections with 15 desks each. Each desk had an envelope
containing a set of flashcards, a recall test answer sheet, a pencil, and two copies of the
consent form (see Appendix D): one for the experimenters and one for themselves. The desks
on the left-hand side of the room had envelopes with flashcards printed in the Arial font,
while the right-hand side had flashcards in Sans Forgetica; participants were reminded that
they will only open the envelope and start writing when instructed (see Appendix C for
experimenter spiel). A speaker and a timer were prepared for the experiment as well.
The first minute of the 10-minute session was allotted to finalize the set-up of the
venue and gather the participants per experiment session. Inside the venue, the experimenters
played the appropriate music, if any, for the treatment condition (lo-fi lyrical or lo-fi non-
lyrical), while no background music was played for the control group of the music condition.
Music was first played a few minutes before the participants entered the room to prevent
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 16
them from acquiring hints in guessing the nature of the experiment; the music, if any, was
playing all throughout the experiment at the same volume. Once the participants arrived at
the receiving area of the venue, they were asked to fill up the participation sheet (Appendix
B) and were assigned a number (either number one or two) alternately until all participants
had a number. Those assigned with number one were told to sit on the left side of the room
while the rest were instructed to sit on the right. As soon as the participants took their seats,
they were instructed to accomplish the consent forms, and write the date the experiment was
conducted and their assigned number on the answer sheet provided.
After the consent forms were accomplished, the researchers continued to give the
instructions about the task and asked the participants if they had any questions; the
experiment proceeded when no further questions were asked, or after any question raised was
addressed. As soon as they were instructed to open the envelope, they were given 30 seconds
to memorize the words on the flash cards. After 30 seconds, they were asked to return the
cards inside the envelope. Once all the participants returned the flashcards, they were given
instructions to write all the words recalled in four minutes.
Lastly, the remaining time of the experiment was used for debriefing and collection of
answer sheets. The participants were informed about the nature and purpose of the study and
were reminded to avoid disclosing information to potential participants as it may confound
with the experiment if they choose to participate in the study. When no further questions were
asked, the participants were informed that the experiment has ended. They were instructed to
leave their answer sheets on the table and take one copy of the consent form. This process
was repeated for the other sessions.
To ensure validity and accuracy only two, similar rooms, were utilized for all the
experiments. Moreover, the volume of the music, materials used, atmosphere and room
temperature were kept constant at all times.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 17
After all experiments were conducted, the number of words recalled by each
participant per condition was tabulated. Data was encoded and analyzed using the Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Factorial Analysis of Variance and
Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (post hoc test) was used to analyze the data.
Results
A 3x2 factorial analysis of variance was conducted to examine the influence of the
effects of the two independent variables (music and font) on the succeeding recall for
individuals. The music condition included three levels (lo-fi lyrical, lo-fi non-lyrical, and no
background music). Font consisted of two levels (Sans Forgetica and Arial). All effects were
statistically significant at the p < 0.05 significance level except for the font factor. The
condition for lo-fi non-lyrical and Sans Forgetica scored the highest (M = 9.5000, SD =
1.35873), followed by the lo-fi non-lyrical and Arial condition (M = 8.5385, SD = 1.61972)
and the condition for no background music and Sans Forgetica (M = 8.333, SD = 2.41166).
The lo-fi lyrical and Arial condition scored the fourth highest (M = 8.000, SD = 2.08637).
The condition with the second to the lowest recall score was no background music and Arial
(M = 7.6667, SD = 2.08993), and the condition that scored the lowest in the recall task was
lo-fi lyrical and Sans Forgetica (M = 7.2727, SD = 1.50567).
There was a statistically significant effect of music (lo-fi lyrical, lo-fi non-lyrical, and
no background music) condition on recall at the p < 0.05 level for the three conditions as
determined by a factorial ANOVA (F (2, 201) = 11.107, p < 0.001). A tukey’s post hoc test
revealed a statistically significant difference between the lo-fi non-lyrical (M = 9.019, SD =
0.208 and lo-fi lyrical (M = 7.636, SD = 0.224, p < 0.001) conditions; there was also a
statistically significant difference between lo-fi non-lyrical (M = 9.019, SD = 0.208) and no
background music condition (M = 8.00, SD = 0.239, p = 0.004). There was no statistically
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 18
significant difference, however, between the lo-fi lyrical and no background music condition
(p = 0.529).
There was, unfortunately, no statistically significant effect for the main effect of font
style (arial and sans forgetica) on recall at the p < 0.05 level for the two conditions as
determined by a factorial ANOVA (F (1, 201) = 1.347, p = 0.247).
There was an interaction effect of music and font style (F (2, 201) = 4.174, p = 0.17).
Figure 1. Graph of Estimated Marginal Means of Recall. Data for Arial and Sans Forgetica
conditions over Lo-fi Lyrical, Lo-fi Non-Lyrical, and No Background Music conditions.
Discussion
This study identified the effects of two independent variables namely music and font
on recall. All effects were found to be statistically significant at alpha level 0.05 except for
font. The null hypothesis for the font condition was retained, while the null hypothesis for the
effects of music and the interaction effects were rejected. This signifies that, first and
foremost, the factor of font need not be considered when dealing with recall tasks, implying
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 19
that font alone will not impede the optimal amount of information retained. Desired difficulty
therefore does not illustrate a higher probability of recall when it is the only factor being
considered.
The main effect for music, on the other hand, yielded significant results. The lo-fi
non-lyrical type of music provided for the highest scores on recall, as compared to the lo-fi
lyrical and no background music conditions. This result can be attributed to the nature of the
task, recalling words, interacting with the lyrics of the song, which contain semantic content.
In a study conducted by Perham and Currie (2015), lyrical music was found to impair reading
comprehension, due to the similarity of items, particularly words, present in task and the
verbal lyrics found in music, which reduces the capacity of working memory. In addition, the
result may also be attributed to a cognitive slip called data-driven errors, which is when
incoming sensory stimuli overrides the intended action (Norman, 1981). The extent of the
override could have been greater due to the similarity of the tasks as what was found in the
study of Perham and Currie (2015). These results instigate that when performing recall tasks,
playing background music may aid and improve the amount of recalled information.
Considering that this music must be ―soft‖ or downtempo like lo-fi, and there must not be
lyrics in accompaniment as this may interfere with the amount of, and how the information is
processed in the brain due to the limited capacity of working memory (Miller, 2014; Norman,
1981).
However, it is important to understand that recall is significantly affected by the
interaction of both music and font style. More specifically, the condition for lo-fi non-lyrical
and Sans Forgetica was found to have the most significant effect on recall. These findings
entail that the amount of information retained is more likely to increase when the information
is presented through a complex font, and that lo-fi non-lyrical music or soft music is played
in the background. In theory, this proves that having a somewhat constant, ―background‖
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 20
noise during both the encoding and recall process will help the mind to focus (Smith, 1985),
in conjunction with a high complexity font will more likely allow for a deeper consolidation
of the information being studied and attempted to be recalled.
These results may be reflected due to the concept of desired difficulty where the
music does not interfere with the encoding and subsequent recall of information, but rather
aids in the recall process (Bjork & Bjork, 2009). Evidently, a changing nuanced environment
coupled with the difficult font resulted to the most optimal study conditions given the set up
of this experiment. The experiment also proved the concept of divided attention and
interference effects for memorisation as observed through the treatment of Sans Forgetica and
lyrical lo-fi music. Given its deliberate structural complexity, Sans Forgetica may have
demanded a larger portion of an individual’s working memory in order to function, when
coupled with lyrical lo-fi music desired difficulty was not achieved. The combination of two
demanding tasks may have caused the interference of aurally encoded information (reading
and listening) resulting to the sub-optimal learning conditions which were reflected in the
results of this experiment.
The results supported two out of three of the hypotheses of this study. Lo-fi music had
a statistically significant effect on recall and the effect of music on recall is dependent on the
font used. Meanwhile, the results do not prove that font alone has a significant effect on
recall. This signifies that for the fonts to have an effect on recall, it has to be accompanied by
lo-fi music but lo-fi music can be effective on its own. Hence, for students who are given
tasks of recall in school, it is therefore suggested to have short texts rewritten in a complex
font, such as Sans Forgetica, and while studying, they may play soft music in the background,
particularly lo-fi non-lyrical. This will allow them to recall as much information as possible.
On the other hand, it is not recommended for students to listen to lyrical music while
studying as this may impede the encoding of information.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 21
Theoretically, this experiment provides support for previous studies on music on
recall, specifically ―soft music‖ on recall. Dolegui (2013) found that when ―soft music‖ is
played, participants got higher scores on memory tasks . Most of these researches however,
use soft music such as instrumental and classical, this experiment then, was able to test the
extent of previous theories about music and recall on a relatively new genre of music. With
the effect of lo-fi music on recall being statistically significant, lo-fi music can now be further
tested as a valid aid in memory retrieval. Font on the other hand was not found to have a
statistically significant effect on recall. Given those results may also prove useful for the
ongoing study on the relatively new font: Sans Forgetica.
Table 2
Summary of Interaction Effects
Music
Font
Mean
Std. Error
Lo-fi Lyrical
Arial
8.000
.313
Sans Forgetica
7.273
.322
Lo-fi Non-
Lyrical
Arial
8.538
.296
Sans Forgetica
9.500
.292
No Music
Arial
7.667
.338
Sans Forgetica
8.333
.338
As what was mentioned earlier, an interaction effect between the font and music was
observed. However, the effect of both font and music on varies – it depends on the type of
font used (Sans Forgetica or Arial) and the music listened to (lo-fi lyrical, lo-fi non-lyrical, or
no background music). As seen in Table 2 above, recall test scores were highest when
subjects memorized the words written Sans Forgetica was used while being subjected to lo-fi
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 22
non-lyrical music while recall test scores were lowest when subjects memorized words. In
general, subjects received lower scores when subjected to lo-fi lyrical music due to the
similarity of the task and stimuli, with the addition of Sans Forgetica, however, lower scores
were observed due to the added difficulty brough by the font itself. As what was mentioned
earlier, working memory is limited, thus was more cognitively taxing and difficult to
memorize the words (Birchfield, 2011).
On the other hand, when subjects were under the condition of lo-fi non-lyrical music,
scores were generally higher compared to that of the other music conditions. With the
addition of Sans Forgetica, scores were the highest in the entire experiment. This could be
attributed by the calming effect of soft music (Ali & Peynircioğlu, 2006; Husain et al., 2002;
Miller, 2014; Amable, 2019), which facilitates better consolidation of information and other
cognitive processes, thus allowing the individual to recall the words better.
When no music was played in the control condition, scores were lower than that of
having lo-fi non-lyrical music. However, participants scored lower on recall under the
condition of Sans Forgetica and no background music which was surprising as studies on
divided attention would say that memory encoding and retrieval as primary tasks are optimal
given that no distractors impede the process such as secondary tasks that involve verbal
information (Kensinger et al., 2003). In this case, despite the lack of a distractor like music
during encoding, participants did not seem to perform better. This supports Echaide’s
findings of the presence of music having no negative involvement in the recall process
(2019). A study conducted by Dobbs, Furnham, and McClelland (2011) found that subjects
performed better in silence when given a cognitive task based on their abilities.
The lack of an improvement in recall for the Sans Forgetica and no background music
condition may be the result of the time constraint given to the participants for memorisation.
Preliminary findings therefore suggest that in the event of a stressful situation (such as the
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 23
time constraint) a complex font such as sans forgetica serves as an impediment rather than a
facilitator. As for lyrical lo-fi on the other hand, participants scored lower for recall tasks.
The results of this condition showcase the effect of divided attention wherein the presence of
music with lyrics hindered optimal memory retrieval. This has implications on the way
people listen to music as it may suggest that there is a tendency for listeners of lyrical music
to process the lyrics as the song plays thus directing focus away from the primary task of
encoding and retrieval (Kensinger et al., 2003). It was found that the research done by Smith
supported the results wherein the presence of non-lyrical lo-fi was able to act as a facilitator
in the recall process (1985). This can be explained by the fact that both instrumental and non-
lyrical lo-fi do not contain lyrics and thus do not impede the verbal task of encoding words.
Furthermore, the use of the Sans Forgetica font together with the playing of non-lyrical lo-fi
served as the optimal condition for recall. This further supports Hodges et al.’s findings about
multisensory integration. This study’s findings can provide support for the theory of the
brain’s ability to amalgamate stimuli such as music and reading given that no lyrics are
present in the song (Hodges et al.,2014). Overall, this research provides several implications
on lo-fi music and the Sans Forgetica font and its effects on recall. As both are relatively
new, the results found here may serve as a basis for future research done on recall, with non-
lyrical lo-fi as a facilitator for memory formation. On the other hand, studies on Sans
Forgetica may look into utilizing the font in conjunction with non-lyrical music given the
statistically significant results of this experiment.
The study, however, only identified the effects of one genre of music and two types of
fonts due to time and resource constraints. The researchers only had approximately one
month to conduct the experiments and a total of 207 participants therefore limiting the
number of trials and treatment conditions possible. Moreover, the unavailability of the
experimental psychology laboratory served as a hindrance for the experimental location to be
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 24
kept constant. The study was also limited to students from Ateneo de Manila University as its
participants therefore reducing the generalizability of the study. Hence, even when this study
is perceived as successful, due to most of the hypotheses presented by the researchers being
affirmed by the conducted experiment and calculated results, there are still ways in which this
study and its nature can be improved and thus may contribute to the growing bodies of
knowledge in the fields of recall, music, and font. The researchers thus suggest variations in
music genres and font styles, to see if the theories on these being factors of amount of
recalled information are to be disproved, or further proved. The type of cognitive test such as
comprehension or recognition tests may also be manipulated to further study the effects of
music and font. Ultimately, studies on such topics may thus help students, teachers, and all
learners alike optimize how new information is understood and recalled. Moreover, it is
recommended that future researchers use a larger sample size to increase the validity and
generalizability of the study.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 25
Appendix A
Experiment Flow
Approximate time per session: 10 minutes
DURATION
ACTIVITY
1 min.
Inside the experimental room
❏ Experimenters place answer sheets, flashcards (placed in an
envelope), a pencil, and the consent form on the table
❏ Music is played prior to the participants entering
Outside the experimental room
❏ Assembly of participants
❏ Filling up of participation sheet
❏ Assignment of number (one or two)
2 mins.
❏ Participants enter room
❏ Those assigned to number one sit on the left-hand side
of the room
❏ Those assigned to number two sit on the right-hand side
of the room
❏ Guide participants to seat
❏ Experimenters provide instructions
❏ Instructed to accomplish the consent form and not to
open the envelope until instructed to do so
5 mins.
Experiment proper
❏ 30 seconds to memorize
❏ Instruct participants to place the flashcards back in the envelope
❏ Writing period of approximately four minutes
1 min.
❏ Collect Paper
1 min.
❏ Debrief
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 26
Appendix B
Participation Sheet
SIGN-UP SHEET FOR PARTICIPATION IN PSYCHOLOGY EXPERIMENTS
EXPERIMENT CODE: Experiment B4
EXPERIMENTERS: Kyle Casumbal Chloe Chan
Francesca de Guzman Nica Fernandez
Anneliese Ng Matthew So
CONTACT INFO: 09177906373 or kyle.casumbal@obf.ateneo.edu
SECTION: PSYC 91 B PROFESSOR: Jocelyn M. Nolasco
INSTRUCTIONS: Write your name, contact information, and teacher beside the
corresponding schedule/slot when you would like to participate in the experiment. Please
note the schedule and room and DO NOT FORGET to come! We’ll be waiting for you…
thanks a lot!
DATE & TIME
VENUE
NAME
CONTACT
NUMBER
SocSc 11/PSY
108/PSYC 22
TEACHER
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 27
Appendix C
Experimenter Spiel
Good day, we’re experimenters under Ma’am Nolasco. Thank you for signing up for
this experiment, in front of you are consent forms and an envelope. Do not open the envelope
until instructed to do so.
Please write the date and your assigned number on the answer sheet and sign both
copies of the consent form before we can proceed. (30 secs) This experiment aims to test
memory. Inside the envelope are 15 flashcards containing words. When instructed to take the
cards out of the envelope, you will be given 30 seconds in total to memorise these words.
Please do not write anything on the answer sheet provided during this period. After the 30
seconds has elapsed, you must return the cards inside the envelope. You will be told when to
begin writing the words you’ve remembered on the answer sheet provided. You will be given
four minutes to write the words you remember.
The experiment that you just underwent, aimed to investigate the effects of Low
fidelity (lo-fi) music and font on recall. The conditions that were assigned to you were: Arial
for this side, and Sans Forgetica on the other. The condition for music that was assigned was
(lo-fi lyrical). Recall will be measured by the number of correctly recalled words. Your
participation on this experiment will help contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this
field since the variables we’re testing are contemporary, meaning new.
The experiment has ended. Please do not tell anyone about the nature of the
experiment, but feel free to tell your friends to participate in our study as well. If you want to
know the results of our experiment, feel free to message Kyle, the number we messaged you
with. Please bring with you one copy of the signed consent form and leave the answer sheet
on the table. Thank you for your participation.
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 28
Appendix D
Informed Consent Form
The Department of Psychology at the Ateneo de Manila University supports the practice of
protection of human participants in research. The following will provide you with
information about the study that will help you in deciding whether or not you wish to
participate. If you agree to participate, please be aware that you are free to withdraw at any
point throughout the duration of the study without any penalty.
In this study, we aim to identify the factors that affect memory recall. If you have any
discomfort in taking timed exams, please inform the researcher and the study will stop. All
information you provide will remain confidential and will not be associated with your name.
If for any reason during this study you do not feel comfortable, you may leave and receive
credit for the time you participated and your information will be discarded. Your participation
in this study will require approximately 20 minutes. When this study is complete you will be
provided with the results of the study if you request them, and you will be free to ask any
questions. If you have any further questions concerning this study, please feel free to contact
us through phone or email: Kyle Casumbal at researcher’s email address
kyle.casumbal@obf.ateneo.edu or phone number 0917 790 6373.
Please indicate with your signature on the space below that you understand your rights and
agree to participate in the study.
Your participation is solicited, yet strictly voluntary. All information will be kept
confidential and your name will not be associated with any research findings.
____________________________ ______________________________
Signature and Printed Name Kyle Casumbal, Researcher
of Participant & Date
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 29
Appendix E
List of Words and Font
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 30
Appendix F
Answer Sheet for Recall
Write down as many words as you can recall in no particular order. Incorrect spellings of
words or illegible handwriting would not be considered as correct answers. Other variations
or translations of words in different languages and/or dialects would also not be considered as
correct answers. Please write legibly.
1. __________________
2. __________________
3. __________________
4. __________________
5. __________________
6. __________________
7. __________________
8. __________________
9. __________________
10. __________________
11. __________________
12. __________________
13. __________________
14. __________________
15. __________________
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 31
Appendix G
Tables and Graphs
Table 3
Descriptive Statistics
Table 4
Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 32
Table 5
Test of Between-Subjects Effects
Table 6
Estimates of Font
Table 7
Pairwise Comparison of Fonts
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 33
Table 8
Univariate Tests of Fonts
Table 9
Estimates of Music
Table 10
Pairwise Comparison of Music
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 34
Table 11
Univariate Tests of Fonts
Table 12
Post-hoc Test. Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference
Table 13
Summary of interaction effects
THE EFFECTS OF LOW-FIDELITY MUSIC AND FONT STYLE ON RECALL 35
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