Differential effects of child-appropriate music styles on executive function in preschool children: a longitudinal...

Executive function is a key capacity underpinning preschool children's school readiness and self-regulation. Musical activities may facilitate executive function; however, direct, within-study comparisons of multiple child-appropriate musical styles remain limited. This study compared the effects of six musical styles (pop, jazz, Latin, electronic dance music, nursery rhymes, and folk/country) on preschoolers' inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility to assess their relative suitability.

A longitudinal randomized controlled design was employed. A total of 115 children aged 4-5 years from a kindergarten in Chengdu were randomly assigned to six music-style groups or a control group. Over 4 weeks, the experimental groups participated in a brief daily classroom-based activity (10 min/weekday) that combined instrumental music exposure with rhythm-based clapping synchronized to the assigned style, whereas the control group engaged in quiet reading or drawing. Executive function was assessed at pretest, posttest, and one-month follow-up using the Peg Tapping Task, Rotating Can Task, and Dimensional Change Card Sort Task. Data were analyzed in SPSS using mixed-design ANOVAs, with Bonferroni-adjusted post hoc tests.

No significant between-group differences were observed at baseline. Following the intervention, the music condition demonstrated greater improvements than the control group in inhibitory control and working memory at posttest and follow-up. Improvements in cognitive flexibility were comparatively modest. When musical styles were examined separately, statistically robust advantages over the control condition were primarily concentrated in the Latin music group, whereas other styles showed improvement trends that did not consistently remain significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Maintenance of gains at follow-up was most evident in the Latin group.

Music-based intervention can facilitate executive-function development in preschool children, particularly in inhibitory control and working memory. However, style-related differences were selective rather than forming a stable hierarchical gradient across genres. Latin music showed the most consistent and sustained advantages within the present design, suggesting that rhythmic engagement may support certain components of executive function. Further research is needed to isolate the specific musical parameters underlying these differences.