“The Effect of Background Music on Task Performance in Psychotic Children”, 1989-12 (; backlinks):
This study attempted to evaluate the effect of background music on the task performance of psychotic children.
The subjects were 4 male psychotic children [autism or schizophrenia], ranging in age 5–9 years, who were students in a psycho-educational day treatment center. An ABAB single-subject design was used to evaluate the effect of background music on the dependent variable; the dependent variable was a color-coded sorting task. Data were analyzed using graphic analysis, a nonparametric statistic, and a criterion for clinical-significance.
Results: supported a facilitative effect for background music on task performance.
Implications of the results are discussed.