Washington: A new study has recently revealed that it is hard FOR older adults to recall names when music is playing.
Georgia Institute of Technology found that music might help some people relax when they're trying to concentrate but it doesn't help them remember what they're focusing on, especially as they get older.
In the research college-aged participants had no problem, the music didn't affect their performance. But the older adults remembered 10 percent fewer names when listening to background music or musical rain as compared to silence.
Reaves and her advisor, School of Psychology Assistant Professor Audrey Duarte, linked the results with the well-known cocktail party effect, a phenomenon that allows people to solely focus their attention on one conversation even while surrounded by multiple conversations or loud music .
Duarte said that older adults have trouble ignoring irrelevant noises and concentrating, as associative memory also declines with age and as people get older, it's harder to remember what name went with a face or where a conversation took place.
The findings could have implications for senior living centers and people who prefer to hold meetings away from the office.
