# An Eye-Tracking Study on Text Comprehension While Listening to Music: Preliminary Results
## 4 Discussion
### Reading Performance in Text Comprehension  
According to H4, participants are expected to achieve higher reading comprehension scores in the preferred music and silence conditions than in the non-preferred music and cafe noise conditions. This prediction was based on the idea that non-preferred music and cafe noise would increase cognitive load, impairing text comprehension, while preferred music and silence would allow for better cognitive focus and processing. The participants' reading comprehension scores were statistically significantly lower in the non-preferred music condition than the other conditions, supporting the hypothesis that non-preferred music increases cognitive load and has a negative impact on text comprehension. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between comprehension scores obtained for the preferred music, cafe noise, and silence conditions. This suggests that preferred music and silence allow for comparable reading performance, while also cafe noise did not impair comprehension at a statistically significant level.  
The findings align with those of several studies that highlight the disruptive effects of non-preferred music and the cognitive benefits of silence or preferred music. Many studies reported that non-preferred music impairs cognitive performance, while silence and preferred music enhance comprehension [1; 8; 28]. [PERSON] et al. [34] and [PERSON] et al. [35] claimed that silence reduces cognitive load, enabling better focus and comprehension. [PERSON] et al. [1] observed better comprehension under preferred music or silence compared to non-preferred or loud music. [PERSON] et al. [34] and [PERSON] et al. [6] suggested that moderate, predictable noise, such as cafe noise, has less detrimental effects than irregular, disruptive noise, which aligns with this study's finding of no significant impact from cafe noise.  
While this study found no statistically significant difference in comprehension between cafe noise, preferred music, and silence conditions, some prior studies indicate that cafe noise can impair cognitive performance. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [8] emphasized that background noise, including cafe noise, often disrupts cognitive tasks by increasing cognitive load. In the same vein, [PERSON] et al. [35] suggested that auditory distractions, including cafe noise, could overwhelm cognitive systems. The lack of a statistically significant effect of the cafe noise in this study may be explained by the fact that a number of participants (20% as shown in Table 1) reported familiarity with studying in environments with background noise. Familiarity is likely to have reduced the disruptive potential of cafe noise, allowing participants to adapt and maintain comprehension. Therefore, H4 was partially confirmed.  
According to H5, reading time is expected to be longer in the non-preferred music and cafe noise conditions than in the preferred music and silence conditions. Our results showed that although reading time in the non-preferred music condition was slightly longer than in other conditions, the difference was not statistically significant. This means that participants were able to maintain a consistent reading pace despite the presence of non-preferred music.  
The findings of this study partially align with the existing literature. A number of studies have shown that background music, particularly music that individuals do not prefer, can impede cognitive performance, leading to longer reading times [3; 37]. However,other research studies suggest that the effect of noise, including non-preferred music, may vary depending on the individual's ability to concentrate or the complexity of the reading task [38]. In this study, the non-statistically significant difference in reading time among preferred music, cafe noise, and silence conditions indicates that the participants may have employed effective strategies to alleviate the potential distractions. Therefore, H5 was not confirmed.