ABSTRACT
Exercise psychology researchers have repeatedly demonstrated the positive effects of music on exercise performance and affective responses. However, the impact of ambient noise (i.e., any environmental and/or bodily sound interference) on psychological responses to music during aerobic exercise has not been thoroughly examined. To test the effects of ambient noise, participants were randomly assigned to either a control group or one of two experimental groups (music with or without noise-cancelling features). Participants completed the Balke and Ware Treadmill Exercise Test until voluntary exhaustion. Measures of attentional focus and perceived exertion were taken every minute during the test. A significant main effect of group on attentional focus was observed, indicating that participants in the control group experienced more associative thoughts when compared to the experimental groups (ηp2 = .15). No significant differences were observed across conditions for any other dependent variable. Accordingly, it appears reasonable to postulate that the attentional shifts caused by interoceptive sensory cues may have a more pronounced influence on movement execution than the presence/absence of ambient noise and/or music.
