In high-risk industries, responding accurately and promptly to spoken commands is crucial to ensure safety and productivity. When simultaneous sounds occur, it increases the difficulty of responding efficiently and accurately. This study examined responses to spoken commands in an audio-visual multitasking paradigm that simulated a high-consequence working environment. Participants had varying levels of formal music training (FMT): no FMT, 1–3, 3–5, and 5+ years of FMT. We found that FMT groups were similar in accuracy overall and background music decreased accuracy for all groups. The degree of FMT significantly impacted non-response. Additionally, there was an interaction where the no FMT group responded 1.5-fold less frequently in the presence of background music; however, participants with 5+ years of FMT had no decrease. Considering the similar accuracy with less frequent responding, the 5+ years FMT group appears well calibrated to when they were unsure of the answer, suggestive of improved meta-cognition which could be valuable in high-risk industry settings. Future research can examine performance within different types or quality of musical training, and pedagogical approaches can be compared.
In high-risk domains, accurate and timely communications while multitasking are necessary for safety and efficiency. Complex musical/acoustic environments cause hindered communication and awareness. This study used an audio-visual multi-tasking paradigm that examined speech intelligibility and if formal music training (FMT) can mitigate these challenges. Twenty-five students (16F/9M) from Vanderbilt University participated with varying levels of FMT: no FMT, 1–3 years, 3–5 years, and 5+ years of FMT. The study found that the degree of FMT significantly impacted non-response (p-value < 0.001). Among participants with no FMT, the presence of background music increased the odds of non-response by 1.5-fold (95% CI: 0.95, 2.37), conversely, participants with 5+ years of FMT had no decrease (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.69, 1.36), showing that non-response in the presence of music worsens with each subgroup until 5+ years of FMT. The accuracy for all groups was similar ( p = 0.74) and the background music decreased accuracy for all groups (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.76). Although levels of accuracy were similar for all, the 5+ FMT group responded less frequently, which may indicate increased working memory (i.e., phonological loop) and meta-cognition, a valuable skill in high-risk industry. Future research can explore the pedagogy of musical training.
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