Plenty of people use music as motivation to power through their workout, but did you know that music can also help you ace a job interview?
According to a new study by the Society For Personality And Social Psychology, listening to “high power music” such as 50 Cent’s monster 2003 hit “In Da Club” can help you focus and streamline your energy when heading into a big meeting.
In the study, two groups listened to a couple types of music. The first group listened to “high power music” such as “In Da Club” and Queen’s classic stadium anthem “We Will Rock You,” while the second group listened to more laidback “low power music” like Biggie’s “Big Poppa” and Fatboy Slim’s “Because We Can.”
When measured for abstract thinking the “low power music” group made more mistakes while the “high power music” group appeared to show better focus and productivity.
Designed to measure the “psychological empowerment” of music, researchers wanted to see if there were certain types of music that served as better motivators before a big moment much like when pro athletes use certain music to get pumped up right before game time.
“One thing we know from prior research is that people who feel powerful tend to make the first offer in negotiations. Essentially, power is a propensity to act, to take charge of the situation,” says Derek Rucker, co-author of the report.
Rucker went on to add “Just as professional athletes might put on empowering music before they take the field to get them in a powerful state of mind, you might try [this] in certain situations where you want to be empowered… Empowering music might be used strategically to get us in the right frame of mind.”
